Fairyride
by Ren Estera
Summary: Hypocritical but True. Contradictory but Real. Curses like a drunk sailor but Quiet. Leads a Normal but Explosive life. This is what we call an Ikebukuroite. ShizuoXOCXIzaya Slight AU
1. The One Named Ishimaru Kumiko

**Author's Note:** **I have not given up on Fine Line, for any of my Fine Line readers seeing this. I have just been very busy due to school, college portfolios and apps and just family problems. I will get back to FL as soon as school settles down (hates being a senior). But I just could not resist typing this out, and felt I should do this instead as right now, my inspiration for FL is just blaaah. That story totally went downhill for the last 10 chapters and I want to find a way to bring it back up. So I figured I might as well write for something I have inspiration for instead of trying to force out FL.**

**This story might be slightly AU-ish, in terms of following the plot etc Also, I did not read the full light novels and only saw bits and pieces of it, so Mairu and Kururi are largely based on my imaginations of them. If you know more of how they act, please feel free to report to me. And first time writing weird but awesome characters like Shizuo and Izaya, so forgive me if they are slightly OOC. Do tell me if you find them OOC, outside of them actually harboring romantic feelings for a girl (because really, I dont think Izaya can love a person lol) And I reaaaaaallly wanna try my hand at something darker (no success guaranteed...as seen by Fine Line) so help me out here ahaha Which is why I chose a young girl for this because I thought a 17 year old, underage, being involved (romantically? ) with some of the nastiest men found in Ikebukuro is a stage calling for horror and darkness and angst and depression.**

**Warning**: **Lots of cursing at times.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Durarara! I only own Ishimaru Kumiko.**

_~Fairyride~_

It was the same routine again.

Every single **damn** day.

Ishimaru Kumiko would get up and take a glance around her small abode. She would then do her daily morning ritual before changing for school. A quick meal of instant ramen would be her breakfast, mushroom chicken flavour, before she grabbed her book bag. She would then step out of the house and lock the door behind her.

On her way to school, she would meet familiar and unfamiliar people every day. She would pass by Russian Sushi and Simon would already be there, handing out flyers to people heading off to work. He would try to pass her one, and she would squeak and shake her head before dashing off. If she felt particularly bored, she would reach out a trembling hand to take the flyer and bow, before dashing off. Either way, she dashed off in fear.

Ishimaru Kumiko experienced a very strange phenomenon. In the midst of her mind, she would always talk tough to herself and cuss up to the high heavens and beyond. But physically and bodily, perpetual fear haunted her every actions and words. She might think about beating up a kid, but her eyes would roll to the back of her head in a crossing of nerves if she actually tried.

Her body and mind contradicted each other.

She absolutely hated being fearful and wanted to be tough; tough enough to break out of this everyday normality and join in with the other lives in Ikebukuro.

But her body refuses to cooperate, and she would shrivel up physically and mentally whenever she tried to do something daring or out of the norm.

She hated her spineless body.

Maybe she should take karate lessons so that she wouldn't be so fearful anymore and her body could be trained to know no fear. She smiled to herself as she ambled along to school and nodded. Yes, she would sign up for karate classes as soon as school is out and- suddenly the thought of breaking bones and being slammed on the ground tore down her imaginations of having a black belt, and her shoulders hunched in defeat. No…she couldn't do it. It would be too tough and painful and she couldn't possibly handle the strain…she would be the laughing stock of the class….

Her mind then roiled in anger. _Fuuuccccccccccckkkk._

"Yo, Kumiko-senpai."

"Eek!"

Her shrill cry attracted eyes to herself, and red bloomed across her face. Her mental _fuck_ was cut short. Looking to the side, she saw her juniors staring at her in slight surprise, amusement trailing over the faces of two of them.

Masaomi Kida, Ryugamine Mikado, and Sonohara Anri.

The three of them attended Raira Academy like her, though she was now a senior there, set to graduate at the end of the school year. She hoped to be able to get into a good college in America and start her career as an up and rising animator-

Ahhh…But…there are big and scary people in America…and they were allowed to own guns there! What if…what if she got shot? Like in those school shootings? She…she didn't want to die..!

….

_Fuuuuuuccck!_

"Senpai?"

She blinked. "Ahh…H-Hai? What is it, R-Ryugamine-kun?" She cursed herself for stuttering to sophomores. She was pretty much a spineless senior who showed no leadership to the juniors who looked up to their seniors for guidance.

The boy just smiled shyly at her. "Ahh…it's nothing. It's just that you seem really out of it today." Silently, he thought that she was always out of it and today was no different.

Masaomi Kida, knowing what he was thinking, shot him a bland look. '_Oi, oi, Mikado. Even if you think that, you shouldn't say that to a girl.'_

"Well…" Mikado began but Kida cut him off by twirling to the front of Kumiko and grabbing her hand.

"Kumiko-senpai, listen not to this little boy over here. Allow me, Kida, to take away your worries and lead you to a land full of joy where we can sprint through fields of lavender together!~"

The girl blushed whilst Mikado shot his best friend a weird look. '_Why lavenders, anyway?'_

Sonohara Anri smiled but said nothing.

Why would a senior like her be friends with a group of sophomores, you ask? Wasn't there an unwritten rules stating seniors only hung out with seniors (and the occasional juniors), and that sophomores and freshmen were a little bunch of kids that should be ignored and teased? Perhaps it was because a lousy senior like her couldn't fit into her own grade class and thus turned to the little kids worth for attention? Who knows, who knows…

Not even Kumiko herself knew, though from what she heard of Orihara Izaya, she carelessly thought that he might know. Perhaps she should pay him a visit and ask him that question, allowing light to be shed on her unusual friendship with the little sophomore kids? But then, wasn't Orihara Izaya a really scary person and not quite right in the head? And Kida warned her to stay away from him as well when they first met…Maybe she shouldn't go see him…Yes, she shouldn't….

Even if she was babysitting his sisters.

Briefly, she wondered why she was babysitting them. She needed the money to further support herself, since the money her parents sent her every month wasn't enough. She happened to see an ad in the newspaper one day looking for babysitters. When she arrived at the Orihara household, the parents seemed nice enough, and they were offering quite a lot of money for looking after two kids to boot.

She understood the high pay once she met the twins.

Orihara Mairu and Orihara Kururi.

They were cute enough, though Kumiko was suspicious about their age since one of them was quite…blessed in the upper parts. But of course, that was just their outer appearance. Underneath that cute façade, they were devil incarnate! Kumiko felt she was lucky since they were inseparable so it wasn't like she needed to split herself in two to keep watch on them, but it also meant she had to handle both at the same time.

On her first day babysitting them a month and a week back, they had stained her school skirt with black ink (it took days of scrubbing to get it out), ripped her shirt sleeve, smuggled porn into her school bag (she got the shock of her life when she found it at home - the magazine promptly went out the window) and snipped bits of her ebony long hair. She was a sobbing mess when she walked home that day. The tough mindset she began the job with was entirely shredded by them, and her body and heart begged her to quit. Her quitting would have raised the number of lost babysitters to seven. But she desperately needed that money and so, decided to give it one more day.

It seemed there was a god, and he decided _not_ to take a vacation on the second day of her work, for he blessed her with the discovery of the twins' greatest passion.

Hanejima Yuhei.

The difficulty of her job went down a few notches because of that discovery, for all she had to do was bring up the topic of Hanejima Yuhei, or present them with a poster or article of him to get them _slightly_ calm. Italics on slightly.

The down side was, though…she now had to use a bit of her job pay to buy posters, pictures, magazines and whatever merchandise featuring that super idol so that she had a backup whenever the need arose. She constantly brought at least one new product of the idol with her everywhere. Paranoia, really.

She, as of yet, had not met Orihara Izaya though. And frankly, she hoped she would never meet the man. His sisters didn't seem too fond of him, remarking they would not mind murdering him if it got them a chance to meet Hanejima. Kumiko wondered whether it was because Orihara Izaya was a horrible person, and thus brother, or that was just the extent of their love for Hanejima. She bet the latter, although the former seemed just as likely.

The man was never home though, lucky for her. She had garnered from Kururi that he was 23 years old, though she said with a blank face that he always claimed that he was 21 years.

Kumiko sighed as she stepped back into her abode, having gotten through the day mostly unscathed; small scratches littered the back of her thighs where the school skirt didn't cover. On her way home and passing by the Russian Sushi restaurant once more, with arms cuddled around her body as much as possible, a red machine suddenly went flying by, missing her by several inches. Her mind screamed _fuuuuuck_ till kingdom come, but her mouth squeaked, and she promptly fell back on her butt. A certain distance away, she heard a man roaring in rage about something being really annoying, before smoke erupted. From behind her, Simon shook his head with a forlorn sigh.

"Shizuo...fighting not good." When she heard the name Shizuo, it instantly matched up with her mental dictionary to produce Heiwajima Shizuo.

Her skin paled without her consent at the terror that filled her body. All thoughts about beating up the man who threw that machine flew out the window and she quickly ran back home instead, taking care to avoid the street where the machine came from, even though it was the fastest way to her house.

Kumiko sighed as slumped onto her bed. Gnawing her lips, a part of her wanted to be strong and tough like Heiwajima Shizuo. But then the other feared the pain that would come with that. Covering her head with her arms, Kumiko rolled over and screamed profanities into her bed sheets in pure frustration.

She hated herself.

More than that, she hated the normalcy of her life. Not even the twins helped to eradicate her plain life. Besides, everyone was a babysitter at some time, anyway! Who the fuck cared if it was a pair of devil twins? It was just babysitting!

…..

Though they were really scary devil twins in an unconventional way.

However, no matter how much Kumiko cussed and wished, the next day when she woke up, everything repeated itself again. Wake up, clean, eat, go to school, babysit (if it was a working day), head home, shower, eat, homework, sleep. She didn't even have a boyfriend! …Granted, she didn't have any close friends either…At seventeen years old, Ishimaru Kumiko had never been in a relationship, not once.

How boring.

But it seemed there was God (or perhaps there isn't one and things just turned out this way), for things were about to change drastically for Kumiko sooner or later. And she had better not take back her wish of **not** having a normal life.

**Reviews please? 8D Great reviews equals great updates ^_^ I wanna try to make this story as big as my FL story haha and FL only continued so far due to great reviews and constant support so...hehehehe~ -bricked-**


	2. The One Named Heiwajima Shizuo

**Author's Note:** **Hmmm what kind of chat programs do most of you guys use? I use msn, and was thinking of creating a separate msn account where you guys can add me to log on and chat about various topics, ideas, suggestions and such related to this story and whatever other Durarara or anime stories you guys have in mind xD I always find it easier to get inspiration if I have people to talk with- unfortunately, my only other friend who I can do this with moved and China blocked all such connections 8( so I cant talk to her orz Whatcha guys think about it? If many are interested, I will definitely open up a new hotmail or some such account for this =) and I will always be online whenever I am free xD Friends for alll~ *stoned***

**Disclaimer: I dont own Durarara! If I did, Shizuo will be my butler...**

_~Fairyride~_

_Breath in. Breath out. Breath in. Breath out._

One last long, deep breath.

Kumiko steeled herself and straightened her shoulders before trudging up the stairs of the Orihara household. Today was a Wednesday, which meant that she has babysitting tasks afterschool as neither Mairu or Kururi has extra-curricular activities.

Fingering the Hanejima keychains in her skirt pocket nervously, Kumiko knocked on the Orihara door.

Her breath escaped her when it was the mother of the twins and devil that answered, giving her a kind smile.

"Ara? Kumiko-chan, you seem very tense today. Is something wrong?" The lady asked, casting her a worried glance.

Only then did Kumiko realize that she was getting stiff from standing so straight, and she forced her body to relax. It was the kind mother, not the eviler of the twins that answered. The last time Mairu answered the door…..

She shuddered, banishing the terrible thoughts.

"Mairu and Kururi are already home. I left some dinner in the fridge for them, and some for you if you like as well." Orihara-mama(1) gestured to the fridge before picking up her purse from the table. "Also please make sure that they complete their homework, Kumiko-chan. I will be back a little before 8pm tonight." Kumiko nodded, apprehension crawling all over her as the lady moved closer to the door. A little voice inside her wailed for Orihara-mama not to go before being squashed.

Damn it! She was just babysitting for fuck's sake. Man up, Kumiko!

…or so she tells herself as Orihara-mama waved to her before closing the door, the light from the outer world cutting off and basking her in shadows.

Slowly and nervously, Kumiko looked around warily, cautious of any surprise attacks from the twins. Deciding that they were upstairs, Kumiko edged her way up the staircase, Hanejima keychains clutched in her fists. She had to get them to do their homework….harder than getting the twins to change (or at least Kururi out of her gymnastic clothes) and shower is getting them to complete their homework. Kururi is a little bit easier to convince than her crazier twin though the two were quite attached to one another so she's usually influenced by Mairu easily.

Stopping outsider their bedroom door, Kumiko raised a shaky hand to knock on the door but it was tore open before her knuckles reached it. Next thing Kumiko knew, she was lying face first on the ground with Mairu straddling her back. She cursed the parents for sending Mairu to martial arts classes.

"Eeep!" Her eyes widened astronomically when she saw a stapler inches away from her cheeks.

"Kumiko-chan, do you have the new Yuhei-kun pin-up poster?" Mairu smiled down at thegirl and the stapler inched ever closer.

"I-I have s-some keychains of him, but n-no, I didn't get a c-chance to buy the poster yet." The girl stammered out. Kururi sat on the bed, staring at her and her merciless sister blankly. _Fuccck you and your inappropriate boobs Kururi! You should help me out at least! Fuck!_

Mairu extended a hand and Kumiko quickly dispatched the keychains in them. The pigtailed girl squealed in joy before getting off her back. "Look, Kururi!"

Kumiko took several moments of their fawning over the keychain to calm her wildly beating heart.

Stage one: Confronting- Completed.

Stage Two: Get them to do homework- in progress.

She had to wait for a while first before attempting to get the twins to do their homework, to ensure they had sufficient time to fawn the keychains. They had split the keychains between them, two for Mairu and two for Kururi.

It took another half an hour and a bribe to get them to do their homework. She promised to buy the new Hanejima Yuhei poster for them if they did their homework. And though she smiled at seeing them settle off to their assignments with pouts on their cute faces, Kumiko's thoughts turned black and dark at having to spend precious money on them again.

But what can she do? Tokyo is not a cheap place to live in, and her parents live all the way in Osaka, running a small but profitable tailoring business. Thanks to the rise in anime and cosplay, business has been booming for them. They even set up an online ordering system for their business.

Kumiko noticed that Kururi paused in her work, and tentatively walked over, careful to avoid the area where Mairu had her hand by the stapler. "D-do you need help Kururi?"

The girl glanced shyly at her, before pointing to a question on her book.

Kururi was an overall quiet and shy girl, though she was just as frightening as her sister at times- just less obvious about it. She remembered Mairu telling her about how Kururi had "taken care" of a girl that took their Hanejima pencil boards. The bags and books of the girl promptly went 'missing.' Kumiko did not know the full details of what Kururi did, but she was sure that she had her own ways of dealing with problems and threats. Mairu was just more aggressive and open about it, frequently using the fear factor on her opponents.

Though Kumiko felt bullied at times, she was sure the twins meant her no harm and that is just how they act naturally….or so she hoped. They were good extortionists though.

Her babysitting time that day was spent helping the twins with their work, getting bullied, convincing them to shower and change, getting bullied again, do some of her won homework while the twins watched movies featuring Hanejima, get bullied once more time by Mairu, heat up their dinner for them, get threatened with cutlery and then sitting down at the table for dinner.

By the time 8pm rolled around, the twins have finished their homework, showered and changed and were tucking into dinner, and Kumiko only suffered a hole to her school skirt….easily patched up….yea…

_Damn kids._

The door opened and Orihara-mama walked in. "Ah, I hope they were not much trouble, Kumiko-chan?"

Kumiko felt the edge of a fork poking against her thigh under the table. "N-no, of course not."Mairu smiled at her.

Getting up, Kumiko gathered her bags together before walking over to the lady. "They have already completed their homework and I left their clothes in the wash bin for you already." Because the twins did not pick up after themselves.

"Thank you for that. And here's your pay for the day." Orihara-mama handed her a small envelope which she tucked into her bag. Bowing, she thanked the lady profusely.

"Thank you for your hard work today, Kumiko-chan! I'll see you soon!" Waving goodbye to Orihara-mama from the front lawn, Kumiko spied Mairu waving her arms at her as well, and Kururi giving a small wave of her own. Kumiko smiled at them with a wave before starting on her way back home.

As much as they made her work life a living hell at times, Kumiko could never hate the twins no matter how she cursed and damned them. They were just too cute for their own good.

But as luck would have it, her small mood lift was significantly dampened when she bumped into a group of wannabe-yakuza on her way home. And luck would also have it that at the time, Simon who most likely would help her if he saw, happened to not be outside passing out fliers. He was most likely on a delivery job though Kumiko hoped to whatever deity sitting on his ass that he would just be inside and hear her cries of help.

They had grabbed her school bag (along with her hard earned pay), claiming that it was payment for dirtying their clothes by bumping into them_. Fucking bastards, more like they dirtied my clothes instead. Fucking waste of space._

Despite her thoughts, Kumiko felt the telltale tears of frustration pricking at her eyes, when they started running off with her bag. Letting out a small scream of frustration and a stamp of her feet, she started giving chase, yelling at them to stop.

_Bloody shits, of course they wont stop! Ahhh, I should have asked Mairu to teach me a few defense moves at least! …but then, Mairu probably would make it so painful though and_- She shook her thoughts out of the way. This isn't the time for her to be bipolar!

Luck also have it that the wannabe-yakuza would run into somebody as they laughed at her. "Watch where you're going you little-" The so-called leader growled and looked front with a menacing glare only to stop short when he stared into a black buttoned up vest.

His minions started sweating buckets as they took in the appearance of the man they ran into. Kumiko too stopped in her run, standing a few feet away and wondering why they had stopped running. Although she should actually be glad for it. But seeing them so fearful made her fearful for her bag and herself as well.

"H-H-He-Hei-!" One minion promptly fainted in the midst of his stuttering.

Shaded eyes glared down at the group of men who still clutched Kumiko's bag in their grip. The eyebrows of this newcomer twitched in anger.

"Ahh…Heiwajima S-Shizuo. S-sorry about t-that…" Kumiko paled when she heard that name. Heiwajima S-Shizuo? Oh shit. Oh yes. Oh no. Alright!

_Fuck, stop contradicting myself!_

The leftover wannabe-yakuzas edged out of Shizuo's way, leaving their fainted friend on the ground. It was at that moment, her fears having reached their peak and stress levels running rampant, Kumiko screamed from where she is standing. "T-they stole my bag!" A lone tear escaped her eye, finally escaping the cage of her eyes, and Kumiko was so stressed, anxious and frustrated that she did not even notice.

It seemed that her words was the breaking point for Shizuo's already shortened fuse and one of his arms shot out to the side, latching onto a crossroad sign. Sweat tumbled down the faces of the yakuza-wannabes, and also pricked at Kumiko's forehead as she watched in utter horror and fascination as Shizuo single handedly pulled the sign out of its screws to the ground. The man in a suit behind Shizuo sighed as he rubbed his temple. "Here we go again..." He muttered.

"WHAT THE HELLLL?" Shizuo roared, road sign raised dangerously into the air. The men who stole Kumiko's bags dropped it and ran. But Shizuo, already pissed, did not let them off. With a powerful running start and one deft swing of the sign, the men were sent crashing into the sides of a building, taking down the metal gates of its door along with them.

Shizuo growled under his breath before taking out a cigarette, turning around and continuing on his way as he did so. Reaching for a lighter, his feet stepped onto something and with another growl, he looked down.

Domo stared up at him.

He nearly crushed his lighter case at the absurdity of it all when he noticed the things tumbling out of the bag. A gasp brought his eyes up to find a girl in a Raira uniform staring at him with fearful and tearful eyes.

And then he remembered someone screaming about those men stealing their bag.

With a grumble and a sigh, he reached down and grabbed the bag, walking over to the girl who seemed to shrink back slightly in fear. Shizuo was not surprised. Everyone is afraid of him. Though he wanted to laugh at the irony of that, for he was more scared of himself than they ever are.

Shizuo reached the Domo bag over to the girl. "It's yours right?" His voice came out gruffer than he intended.

Kumiko stared dumbly at the bag, mind still trying to process that this is THE Heiwajima Shizuo everyone feared and talked about. And he was holding her Domo school bag. Why Domo? Well, she did not feel like using the standard school bags everyone used because she wanted to try to be different and not normal but of course none of that really mattered right now because Heiwajima Shizuo's eyes were starting to twitch and Kumiko had a feeling he was getting pissed and she did not want a sign meeting her face-! _Stooooop with the run-on thoughts, and take the fucking bag, fucking hands_!

She reached out a trembling hand and took a hold of the bag straps. But when she did so, her hands accidentally brushed against his calloused one and with a squeal, she pulled the bag away from him.

"T-thank y-you, for s-stopping them!" She bowed down low and Shizuo could only rub the back of his neck awkwardly. He was more used to people running away from him. And Kumiko very much wanted to run away but manners told her that she should not, since he did retrieve her bag for her and all…

"Sure…." Shizuo mumbled. Where was his lighter again anyway?

The man who was with Shizuo strode up to Kumiko. "You should be more careful. You might not be so lucky next time and they won't only just rob you."

Kumiko straightened and nodded nervously, keeping her eyes off Shizuo and on this man. He had brown hair and wore glasses and chewed on a cigarette of his own. "S-sorry. I b-bumped into them b-by a-accident, and they t-took my bag…"

The man let out a sigh before squelching his cig underneath the soles of his shoes. "Oi, Shizuo."

The blond who merely kept silent turned to regard his companion. "What?"

"We don't have any more jobs today, so why don't you walk this girl here back to her house? It's not safe at this time of the night after all." Kumiko gulped nearly shrieking in surprise at the words that left this man, but the ever dominating presence of Shizuo so close to her kept her squeals in check. The fear factor was super effective in silencing people, note to self.

Shizuo shot this man an incredulous look. "What? I'm your bodyguard Tom, not a chauffeur!"

The person named Tom merely sighed and shrugged. "Like I said, we don't have anything else to do and although I am a debt collector," Kumiko eeped upon hearing that, "I still don't like to see people getting harassed by guys like them." With that, he started walking away. "I'll treat you to sushi later for this, Shizuo." He gave a backwards wave.

The cigarette broke in half in Shizuo's vice grip though a look of calm remained on his features. Or perhaps calm is not the word, Kumiko mused.

Robotically and with much jerks to her movements, Kumiko turned a nervous glance to Shizuo. She felt her vision blackout for a moment before returning when she caught his gaze down at her. _Fuuuck, it won't be good to faint in front of him. Get a hold of yourself, bitch._

"Y-you don't h-have to w-walk me home, H-Heiwajima-san…" It took a few tries for her to get his name out.

"Tom asked me to do it."He stretched a hand out and she stared at it with a blank look. His brows slanted down in annoyance. "Your bag. I'll carry it." He figured it will be safer if he carried the bag. Since Tom asked him to do it, might as well do it properly.

"N-no, it's f-fine-" She stopped and quickly handed the bag over when his brows started twitching again.

"Where do you live?" He asked, voice gruff but gentler than before. The girl seemed like she was about to faint in his presence and though that ticked him off, he tried to not scare her too much.

Kumiko gave him her address, and her mind squealed in utter joy and excitement that Heiwajima Shizuo, THE Heiwajima Shizuo, is walking her home and she just gave him his address. Now he knows where she lives!...but wait, isn't that a bad thing? Isnt he like a very dangerous person? For him to know where she lives is not good at all, not gooood!

Unconsciously, her hands wringed themselves against one another and it seemed her confusion and nervousness showed on her face for Shizuo pinned a hard gaze on her. "I'm not going to hurt you, you know."

Kumiko looked up at him- the top of her head barely passed his shoulders- but quickly looked back down with a flush. Up close, he looked supeeeer handsome…..

Fuck her straying mind. She was going insane, clearly.

With a nod, she mumbled under her breath. "I-I know."

"Then why are you so scared?" Shizuo knew the answer of course.

Because it was Heiwajima Shizuo that people are always scared. Why do you think he has such a good job security working for Tom? But Shizuo asked the question anyways because he couldn't think of anything else to help getting this girl less nervous, and he thought that admitting the fear might help. Well, so he heard from Shinra at least.

"Because…"

Shizuo lit up another cig, Domo bag hanging off his shoulders. Here comes the Heiwajima Shizuo is scary wail.

"I'm just like that."

His lighter snapped shut, and Kumiko thought that the face of this man looked ethereal under the soft glow of his cigarette light, with his golden hair illuminated by the street lamp.

Shizuo blinked and blew out a billow of smoke.

"What's your name?"

"E-eh?" The ethereal illusion broke.

"I said what's your name." Really, were kids that deaf nowadays? All that stupid pop music must be breaking their ears. How annoying.

Kumiko shuffled her right foot around. "I-Ishimaru Kumiko…." She paused, but Shizuo seemed not to notice for he turned and began on the trek to her home once more.

The manners imprinted onto her by her mum overrode her perpetual bodily fear and she bowed low once again. "N-nice to m-meet you."

Shizuo cast a glance back at the girl.

Silence veiled itself across the street they were on, and an old couple quietly returned to their humble abode a few houses up. Crickets called from the bushes and water flies buzzed around the street lamps. The sounds of nature was all that could be heard, and none of the city noise reached the plane they were in.

"Nice to meet you too, I guess."

This was the first time someone found it nice to meet him.

**Watched too much KHR lololol and Kumiko will call her that in her mind, just cause she labels people for easily cataloguing.**

**Ahh…orz Shizuo OOC much? Argh. Had so much trouble writing him. I hope I get better and that my interpretation of how he acts around girls aren't too horrible (they hardly show him interacting with normal females, other than Celty…..who doesn't really count lol) Any thoughts, suggestions and tips are appreciated 8D I love suggestions since I can incorporate them sometimes haha and you readers have the honor of your fantasies being enacted xD**

**And the reviews from previous chapter really made me excited to type up this one quickly- so as you can see, great reviews equals great updates 8D -shot-**

**NSRforevermore- Thank you so much for reviewing! Becase of your review contribution, this chapter came out quickly xD**

**self helpless- Thank you for reviewing haha and yes, I read that she is quite shy but also quite evil as well somewhere x.x I'll try my best to keep Kururi's character in check xD**

**Cocoasit- thank you for reviewing, and yes, here, next chapter for you haha xD And I hope that being friends with that trio will allow me to bring up some interesting twists, but I havent thought that far yet...orz But thank you once more!**

**SilverFish101- yes, Kumiko lives alone since she moved to Tokyo to attend Raira- why is that so? hmmmm Secrets, secrets xD Ikebukuro really has a lot of things to do, the last time I visited there though I was more of a Shibuya lurker haha And dont worry, Kumiko might seem pretty useless now but I hope for her to grow more of backbone and take on more action in the future xD Dynamic characters ftw, right? And thank you for the tips on Shizuo and Izaya! They will definitely come in handy in the future for me~! If you have any more tips or critics, feel free to tell me as I wont take offence haha I want to improve afterall~! Thank you again for reviewing!**

**shadowedice- Haha Her name is spelled Kumiko xD I found a few mistakes in it so I have to constantly go back and fix them (no beta reader lol), but I will try my best to keep it up for your enjoyment! And thank you haha I'm glad you like the balance Kumiko has and the babysitting thing 8D I only hope Kumiko will grow and change properly and accordingly with the story! Thank you for your support and reviewing~!**


	3. The One Named Orihara Izaya

_~Fairyride~_

It is the same thing once again.

Kumiko woke up in bed, stared around her room glumly before shuffling to do her morning ritual and change. She made her instant ramen and sat down to eat, breaking the chopsticks apart, not even bothering to say "Itadakimasu." Her parents weren't here, so she didn't need to keep up the manners all the time; there wasn't anyone else around anyways.

Just as she lifted the noodles up for a bite, she remembered something.

…..

Heiwajima Shizuo walked her home last night.

…..

Suddenly it didn't seem the same anymore.

The chopsticks clattered to the table and Kumiko sat on the tatami floors in dumb shock.

Heiwajima Shizuo.

Heiwajima Shizuo, also known as the strongest in Ikebukuro.

Heiwajima Shizuo **walked** her home.

Birds flew from their perches on tree branches as a loud squeal pierced the air. Neighbors peered out of their doors and stared at the door on the second floor of a tiny and humble house.

Oh, the resident of that floor is that girl, Ishimaru Kumiko wasn't it?

People went back to their work. She always have been an odd one. Probably found a cockroach or something. Back to normalcy, like the scream that echoed through the neighborhood didn't even happen.

Kumiko, unlike her neighbors, was rolling around in her bed, sheets tangled around her as she continued squealing into them like Mairu and Kururi over Hanejima Yuhei.

Heiwajima Shizuo walked her home!

She was utterly ecstatic at the NOT-normal occurrence. She must have been so happy about it that she didn't even register that until the next morning!

And he wasn't all that bad looking…..

Another row of squeals pealed from her lips before stopping abruptly.

Sadness shimmered in her eyes as it then dawned on her that walking her home was all it was and all it was ever going to be.

Nothing has changed.

With a sigh, she got up and trudged glumly to her ramen, binge eating it in her gloom. Then she grabbed her bag and walked out the door, taking care to lock it behind her. Greeting a good morning to the kind old lady who rented the upper floor to her, she went on her way to school.

She saw the same people and not-same people once more, and Simon tried to pass her a flier in front of Russian Sushi. She ran into Ryugamine Mikado, Masaomi Kida and Sonohara Anri as she approached school. She went into her classroom and took her seat at the back of the class, by the window and is promptly ignored by everyone else. Those who did not ignore her promptly, greeted her, before ignoring her. The bell rung and the teacher walked in.

And her day recycled.

Nothing has changed at all.

* * *

School went along much the same way and ended much the same way as well. Kumiko walked out the gates with a sigh and slump to her shoulders. Other students passed by, shooting strange looks at her figure. She ignored them. Ignore and be ignored, right?

Idly, she kinda wished she had friends. Well, she did, but she wasn't really close to them nor they to her. They were all so open and outgoing, which is the norm in society nowadays she supposed. In modern days now, how often do you find reclusive people like her?

….Sonohara Anri didn't really count.

In a small part of her heart, Kumiko was jealous of Sonohara Anri, for she found friends like Mikado and Kida. She…hasn't found any yet. Will she even find any, friends who will not mind her quietness and fearfulness?

"Hey, should we invite Ishimaru-san along with us?"

"Her? Isnt she like…really quiet?"

"Yea but…I feel sorry for her."

"I kinda do too but she probably wont like the movie we're watching too much. She'll probably be real scared, since it's a thriller afterall."

"Yea, probably not…"

_What the fuck? Did they think I was deaf or something? _Kumiko watched the two girls walk by her in solemn silence. She wanted friends…but not friends that pitied her.

"Huh…" She sighed. Though she supposed she felt a little thankful to them for even thinking about her. Most didn't.

And so, Kumiko went home alone once more.

* * *

Back at her house, Kumiko threw herself onto her bed and kicked her legs in the air in frustration. She is soooo fucking booored and so damn booorrring!

Rolling over, she wiped the tears prickling at her eyes. She knew she was being a big baby, all this wailing and self-depression. If she really wanted to change, she should do something about it!

But….

She just cant.

And that's probably what frustrated her the most.

Throwing her uniform to the ground, Kumiko changed into casual clothes, deciding not to do her homework immediately for the night. Just for a change.

….she needed to go and buy that Hanejima Yuhei poster anyways….

With her head in defeat, she grabbed a smaller Domo sling bag and stuck her wallet into it before leaving the house. Smoothing down her red skirt, she began her way towards the district where majority of the shops selling idol merchandises were. Sadly, it is also near where Otome road, where many of those fujoshis and otakus lurked.

She didn't have anything against them of course, since she watched Sailormoon herself as a kid and watched read various manga from time to time. Recently she has gotten quite into one called Baccano. That aside though, it was more of the cafes that really creeped her. The butler cafes, host cafes and the like….she just found it unsettling for them to pay so much attention their customers and treating them with so much grandiose.

It just wasn't her.

She is just Ishimaru Kumiko. Boring and average and being treated otherwise just scared her.

_The fucking irony of this…_

She gnawed her lips in anger.

Arriving at her destination, she proceeded to look around for that Hanejima poster that the twins wanted. Silly really, since she didn't even know what the poster is like.

She spent about two hours looking around and comparing prices, trying to find the cheapest and best bargain. Spending more than she needed on this idol is not something she wants to do. Why did they even like him anyway?

"Excuse me sir, I'll take these p-please!" She handed her purchases over to the store owner and waited as he rounded up the price. Paying, she stepped out of the store and began the trek home.

Furrowing her brows, she took out one of the mini-gloss photos of Hanejima and stared at it.

….

She had to admit he was good-looking, but not enough reason to justify her spending such money on him. And they weren't even for herself!

She cursed. "Fucking Hanejima…if only they didn't like him…" she mumbled.

"Oooh, young lady, eat sushi~ Sushi good~!" Kumiko stopped in her tracks, not having noticed that she already reached Russia Sushi, and blinked up at Simon, flinching inconspicuously at his sheer size. But he is harmless….completely harmless! So there's no need for her to be so fearful of him.

"A-ah…n-no t-thanks, S-Simon…." She declined nervously. And that was when she noticed the man standing beside the towering Russian.

….

Brown eyes behind shades stared curiously at the photo she held in her hands.

Heiwajima Shizuo.

Sweat tracks instantly made itself known across the back of her neck and Kumiko gulped.

W-w-why is h-he l-looking at h-her like t-that?

Tom blinked in recognition for a while, before pushing his glasses up. "Isn't that your brother, Shizuo?"

Shizuo nodded. "Yea."

…..

…

….eh?

Hanejima Yuhei….

Is Shizuo's brother?

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?

The surprise and shock was clearly printed across Kumiko's face and Shizuo looked away. Kumiko hoped to all hope that he did not hear her cursing Hanejima.

Tom laughed at her expression, not realizing that it is now one of horror as thoughts of Shizuo maiming her crossed her mind. "Hanejima Yuhei is Shizuo's younger brother. Or rather, Heiwajima Kasuka would be the correct name."

Shizuo frowned and pushed his shades. "You don't have to tell that to everyone."

Tom waved a hand airily and approached Kumiko instead. "Are you a fan?"

Paling further, Kumiko scrambled for an excuse. She was totally glad to know that he is Shizuo's brother now, lest she accidentally expresses her dislike of the idol in front of him.

"W-well, t-these are not for m-me. They are f-for some friends." She looked down with a bright flush of red to her face and tucked the photo back into the bag.

"Heeeh~ So you don't like him?" Tom asked with a smile and Kumiko choked on a squeal.

"I-I never s-saw any of his w-works before so I-I can't s-say…." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shizuo watching their interaction.

"Hmm, hmmm~ We can all watch together! Friends are good! Peace is good!" Simon clapped his burly hands together and Kumiko casted the man a weary but amused smile. He really is such a sweet guy, though his size is still pretty…scary.

Tom straightened up as well and took a flier from Simon. "Well, I'm getting pretty hungry now. So let's get me some sushi, Simon."

"Yes, sushi good~!" The two entered the restaurant together, and Shizuo looked like he was going to follow. So Kumiko bowed down to him, and thanked him quietly once more for yesterday before proceeding to walk as fast as possible without being too suspicious to the man.

"Oi."

"H-Hai?" Her legs screeched to a halt about several feet away from Shizuo, and she turned around with a nervous mask.

Shizuo nodded at her bag containing the Hanejim merchandises. "Do you really not like him?"

She blushed crimson again. _I hate him because he's the cause of my dwindling pay money._

"W-well, like I said to T-Tom-san, I've never seen a-any of his works before, so I-I can't say…"

"I see." Shizuo was surprised really, to hear that she's never seen any of Kasuka's works before, since almost all girls her age were fawning over his little brother. He thought that perhaps she was lying- and anger peeked its horns within him at the thought- so he asked again. But he guessed she wasn't then. Now that he thought about it, she didn't seem like the type to lie…Unlike the conniving bastard Izaya! Curse his existence!

"H-Heiwajima-san?"

Shizuo blinked and turned his attention back onto the girl. It seemed that she had asked him a question but he had not been listening because Izaya just pissed him off. Speaking of which, the city reeks!

"Ahh, sorry. What did you say?" Shizuo lifted a hand to the back of his head rubbed it.

"W-well, I just a-asked if y-you liked H-Hanejima-san's, eh, no, H-Heiwajima-san's….no..." Her words tumbled over each other and her brows furrowed in confusion. Shizuo could feel the telltale signs of anger surging in him again. She's taking too long.

"S-Should I refer to y-your brother as H-Hanejima-san or H-Heiwajima-san?" She asked finally, deciding on another question first.

"Hanejima is fine. That's what most know him by." The anger subsided.

"A-Alright then. I was j-just asking if y-you-eeek!" Kumiko squealed when a pair of hands dropped onto her shoulders, and Shizuo nearly snapped his shades in half.

"I-za-yaaaa…" Shizuo growled ferociously as he set a seething glare onto the smiling devil behind the quivering girl. Now he knew why the city reeked from moments ago. Fleabag was here.

"Yo, Shizu-chan. What are you doing~?" Molten eyes drifted down and the smirk on his face widened. "Scaring little girls now? I didn't know Shizu-chan had such a hobby."

Kumiko was practically quaking in her shoes. Shizuo just called this man Izaya in one of the most frightening voices she's ever head, and the hateful glare he pinned on the man did not help. Just thinking of a person that made Shizuo this angry is enough to scare anybody. To make it worst, this man had his hands on her shoulders and-! Was he massaging her?

_Holyyy fuck. _

To top it all off with a cherry, Shizuo called him Izaya.

And she only knew of one Izaya in this town….

Orihara Izaya.

Elder brother of the devil twins. The devil twins whom will not hesitate to have their brother in front of a truck to meet Hanejima Yuhei. The one who Kida warned her to stay away from.

_Shiiiiit_.

"I'm going to kill you!" Shizuo growled, hands already tightening onto the stop sign next to him. An involuntary squeak escaped her at the sight. _Fuuuck, he's not going to slam that into me to get this guy, is he? _

Izaya grinned and laughed, one that made Kumiko shudder as he rubbed circles into her shoulders. "Careful now, Shizu-chan! You're scaring the _princess_~" Kumiko did not like the way he said princess. It sent spiders crawling across her skin.

The sign bent under Shizuo's grip.

Kumiko could see clearly that Shizuo very much wanted to swing that thing and hurt the man behind her but is also very much wary about her being used as a shield of sorts for the man. Coward! Using a girl as a shield!

The man leaned down, and both Shizuo and Kumiko tensed.

"So…." He whispered, and though the breath tickling her ears would usually be a turn-on for most girls, coming from this man whom Kumiko could **feel** is very dangerous, she felt absolutely terrified and caged. "What's your relation to Shizu-chan, hmm?"

"N-nothing!" Her answer came out quick and more high-pitched than usual. She wanted nothing more than to get away. M-Maybe she could tell him that she is his sister's babysitters…? No, that's NOT a good idea. She wanted this man to know as little about her as possible.

"Izayaaaa…!" The crunch of metal was heard as Shizuo's voice got even lower and more dangerous, restraint to just bash the devil incarnate in reaching its peak.

Izaya's smile widened, and he slid his hands from the shoulders of the shivering girl to wrap his arms around her, one hand resting against the center of her neck, pressing it lightly. The sign bent further in Shizuo's ever tightening grip. Izaya felt her gulp beneath him and the sheer terror she felt fascinated him.

Many knew him to be a dangerous man, but he's never seen a female so absolutely and completely terrified of him before at first sight. Most would be dazed initially at first by his looks, but this one did not even seem to notice his looks. He just saw pure fear reflected in her eyes.

Maybe it is because Shizu-chan is right there and his Spartan look is scaring her?

But that can't be it because they were talking to each other, meaning she knows about his violent tendencies.

Who the hell she is, he didn't know. An insignificant girl like her usually did not interest him but anyone who is connected to Shizu-chan is a different story.

"What is it, Shizu-chan? Is she your girlfriend? Is that why you're so angry? Or perhaps you're just jealous you couldn't be this close to her~?" Kumiko sucked her breath in when Izaya placed his chin atop her head and she shot a desperate and fearful look to Shizuo.

Suddenly, Shizuo charged and Izaya narrowed his eyes in surprise. This is why he hated this man. He could not control and predict his movements. How hateful! He totally did not expect Shizuo to come attacking when he held the girl in his grasp. Ahh~ Why can't this simpleton just be run over by a dump truck once and for all?

Kumiko screamed in surprise when Shizuo made a beeline towards her, technically Izaya, and closed the few feet gap between them with the sign still in his grip. _Ooooh my god. He really is going to take me down along with this man! _

Izaya's grip on Kumiko shifted back to her shoulders, and she had no idea what he was going to do to her next (probably use her as a scapegoat), and is glad for it, because Shizuo reached one hand out and pulled her from the hands of the devil before swinging the sign at him, missing her head by several inches. Izaya dodged backwards with the graces of a cat.

Kumiko's eyes were still wide with terror and she panted from the rising stress levels as she clutched at Shizuo's bartender vest. That was such a close call! She thought she'd have pancake-face for sure!

"You should move out of the way." Shizuo muttered to her, anger still coating his voice and released his hold on her. Kumiko swallowed and nodded her head, quickly releasing the tight grip she had on his vest, and ducked beneath his arms. She backed up, watching as Izaya smirked and pulled out a switchblade from the pocket of his hood.

The last thing she saw was Shizuo charging at Izaya with the sign again, before she turned and ran back to her home.

* * *

**Reviews please? 8D I like how the reviews are coming along so far ;D Now I hope the number only grows D *review whore* And all the players/main protagonists (or antagonists...possibly...in Izaya's case) are set 8D Lets hope I dont butcher anyone up, even Kumiko orz**

**Oh, and here's the chat email I mentioned =D It is for google talk though, using gmail...hmm- so anyways, just add if you feel like talking to me and storming up some shit for this story and others haha 8D *did it often on Luna last time***

**remetherlence - just place the usual gmail address behind that since FF doesnt allow us to place the whole email add XD;**

**Onto reviews~**

**NSRforevermore- haha dont stay up too late xD *hypocrite for saying that*and thank you~! I'm going to try and polish up more on the twins as I write more of them, since I'm still pretty unfamiliar with them; but I'm glad you find them and Shizuo fine so far =) And thank you for reviewing~!**

**self helpless- haha yea, I know Shizuo doesnt really backtalk Tom, but I felt he needed to there since this is an assignment out of the ordinary for him xD oooh, I just noticed that it is your story 80 haha XD Shizuo and OC writers gotta stick together haha and I'm glad you liked my interpretations of the twins~ =) and thank you so much for reviewing~!**

**Cocoasit- XD It was a super quick update, wasnt it? I totally did not expect it either xD And yes, Izaya's heeere~ He's such a douche xD Thank you for reviewing~! *huggles***

**Silverfish101- yes, I meant quick update ;D And I'm glad you like Kumiko =) OC's always worry me because people have such a bias view of them and think they are Mary-Sues if they even have one good point almost instantly T_T I'm trying to avoid that and let Kumiko grow on her own. Hope I dont phail at it in the future orz and is this update ASAP enough for you? xD And thanks a lot for reviewing again! =D**

**KatMeister- haha I'm glad you like Kumiko =) I created her hoping people can connect to her a little, since I think most of us dont do what we think and hope we do xD And thank you for the review~!**

**MiniChrome- I'm glad you liked FL 8D I just started this Durarara fic actually xD Since FL was going kinda blah and I have to fix it somehow =( But I'm glad you like this one so far! Thank you for reviewing~! **


	4. Knowing the Lion

**Author's Note: Anyone knows how old Mairu and Kururi are? X.x Cause I fear they may be only slightly younger than Mikado and the rest! DX I have been checking around and trying to find out, and all I got is that Aoba (in Kururi's class) is friends with Mikado which hints that they may only be a year or a couple younger :/ **

**Fuuuuuuu- not really necessary for a babysitter then, is there? Ah, whatever. I'll just wait till DRRR season 2 comes out and find out more then; then make some plot hole cover up XD Though my sources tell me….ergh. Imma make a cover up for next time xD I think I'm going to need it haha…OTL plot hole already.**

* * *

_~Fairyride~_

Wide eyes open, Kumiko laid in her bed. Though the morning sun had long filtered through her window, she did not bother to get up.

The events of yesterday still plagued her mind, and she could hardly sleep that night.

Excitement and terror flowed in her veins.

She was nearly caught (or already caught, however you see it) in the cross fire between two of the most dangerous men in Ikebukuro. And that absolutely terrified her; the pure rage and hate in Shizuo's eyes and Izaya's vice-like touch and voice that reminded her of venom.

But it was so different.

So, so, so, so, SO much more different. It was different from her usual routine of heading straight home without any trouble. It was different from her heading back without any interactions.

And it filled her with excitement.

The two factors clashed within her, robbing her of much needed rest. To some people, the event might be easily brushed off, that it was just two crazy men going at it again and best left forgotten. But to Kumiko, whose life had always been boring, this meant so much more.

With a sigh, Kumiko finally pushed herself up from bed and rubbed at her eyes.

Part of her wanted to meet them again, Shizuo more so than Izaya. That man still scared her with just mere words. But it was also…enticing. Danger is not something she is familiar with, for her disposition towards fear made her take precautions against danger. Yet, the alarm that rang in her head yesterday as he held her lightly is as clear as day. Something in her blood just throbbed, telling her to get away and away from him.

That man was nothing if not dangerous.

But sitting now in the safety of her room, away from any immediate harm, Kumiko slightly missed the adrenaline and uneasiness that coursed through her yesterday night. Distance makes the heart longs for more, was it? Something like that at least. Kumiko could not be bothered to recall it properly, as she flexed her fingers around.

All she knew was that she kinda missed the danger that so scared her.

And if she ever saw Izaya again….

Well, that's if she ever saw him again.

She shook her head. No point thinking about it.

* * *

At the Orihara household afterschool that day, the newly bought Hanejima Yuuhei merchandises were snatched out of her hands almost instantly and Kumiko grimaced. Was this job really worth all the pain?

And yet, Kumiko did not want to call her parents and ask them for more money. Living expenses in the heart of Tokyo is much more than they had anticipated, and her parents did not know that she turned to instant ramen for breakfast (and usually lunch and dinner too) to cut down on costs. With the job, she was at least able to eat outside at restaurants occasionally.

"Kumiko-san, you look… very tired today…." Kururi said softly and Kumiko looked up with a start. She had drifted off to lala-land without her knowing.

Laughing softly, Kumiko scratched her cheeks in embarrassment. "I am a l-little tired….I didn't get much s-sleep last night."

Mairu rolled her head from side to side as she chewed on the side of her pencil. Kumiko is never touching that thing for sure now. "Hmm, why is that? Were you reading porn at night? Going to host clubs? AHH! Don't tell me you're selling your body so that you can pay off your debts?"

Kumiko turned bright red at the words leaving the mouth of this girl. She had a more…vivid imagination than her! "O-of c-course not!" She wailed, cheeks completed heated. "I-I just r-ran into s-some problems yesterday and…"

"What kind of problems? Sex safety problems?" Mairu asked almost too gleefully, glasses flashing under the room light.

"N-No!" Kumiko cried, slapping her hands over her cheeks. An old habit she has whenever she got really embarrassed or shy. "I-I just s-saw…" Should she tell them she met their brother and nearly got smashed in by Heiwajima Shizuo who happens to absolutely hate their brother? Did they even know Heiwajima Shizuo?

"Saw what?" Mairu pressed, leaning forward in her seat.

"T-This guy who is s-super strong…he easily lifted up a r-road sign…" She mumbled and trailed off.

Kururi and Mairu shared a glance. "You mean Shizuo-san?" Mairu asked, suddenly perking up at the recognition.

Kumiko stared at the twins, dumbfounded. "Y-you know Heiwajima S-Shizuo?" A pause. "H-How did you know I was t-talking about him?"

"There is…only one… person who can….lift a sign like that." Kururi said quietly and Kumiko mentally slapped herself. Duh, how dumb as fuck could she get?

But that did not answer the question of how they knew Shizuo.

"Hm, hm~" Mairu laughed in her throat. "How we know him does not matter. What matters is that he is brothers with Yuuhei-san!" And Mairu swooned.

So they knew he is Hanejima Yuuhei's elder brother then…figures they would know him at that point. These two made sure to know every single aspect of Hanejima's life and get in touch with it at all costs.

"So Kumiko-chan knows Shizuo-san then?" Mairu questioned, and a shadow of suspicion passed over Kumiko at the look in her eyes. If she wanted her to do some Hanejima stalking via Shizuo….

"N-Not really…He just helped me once, that's all. I d-don't really know him…"

Mairu pouted and Kururi's blank face saddened a notch. Kumiko was probably right about them using her to scrounge up Hanejima info from Shizuo.

"Aiya. That's no good!" The pigtailed girl crossed her arms. "We haven't seen Shizuo-san in awhile, and while we usually go see him ourselves, mum wouldn't let us out lately."

Kumiko wonders why…

"W-well, if you two continue to b-be good girls, I'll talk to you m-mother about t-taking you out..I suppose..."

Kururi looked at Kumiko with a look of surprise. Mairu sat up instantly, beaming. "Really?"

She nodded, though the senior wondered if her brain is even functioning, making such a promise.

"You better keep your promise then! If you break it-!" Mairu raised the stapler threateningly, smile still in place. Swallowing, Kumiko tried to banish the image she just received of their elder brother in her.

"O-of c-course~"

"YATTA! Tomorrow then~!" Mairu cheered and Kururi smiled.

"…..t-tomorrow?" Gloom rained over Kumiko's features.

"Tomorrow's….a…Saturday…" Kururi softly said.

_I know tomorrow is a fucking Saturday! And that's exactly why! I don't wanna spend my whole free day on two brats…._

But the glimmer of the stapler in Mairu's dangerous hands and the head of a scissors peeking out from underneath Kururi's legs were enough of a motivator for Kumiko to quickly agree.

Even if they hadn't been good girls as of late.

* * *

Kumiko sighed for the umpteenth time the past few days as Mairu skipped ahead of her and Kururi. The quieter of the twins lagged to stick with Kumiko, and the babysitter had to wonder if it was because she was just shy or…actually, she didn't know.

She kinda reminded Kumiko of herself -minus the evil thoughts that are definitely underneath.

Arriving at a crossroad, Mairu glanced around with her hand to block the sunlight. "Hmmm~ I wonder where Shizuo-san is~"

"Are we r-really going to s-spend the whole day stalki- I-I mean, w-with Heiwajima-san?" Kumiko asked Mairu dubiously. Didn't the man have to work? He's always wearing a bartender uniform when she saw…maybe he worked at night only then since that seems to be the only time Kumiko encounters him.

"We're first going to meet up with Shizuo-san,"

He doesn't even know we're looking for him, Kumiko thought bitterly.

"And then convince him to contact Yuuhei-san,"

She makes it sound so easy.

"Go and buy Yuuhei-san merchandises to show that we really support him,"

Kumiko gulped. It better not be on her.

"Grab some sushi to eat,"

Did their mother even gave them that much money?

"And then head home~" Mairu finished with a flourish. Kumiko said nothing and glumly let the girl lead the way.

Mairu stopped suddenly, causing the two following her to stop in turn. She suddenly started running forward and Kumiko started in surprise.

"M-Mairu-!"

"Shi-ZU-O-SAN~!"

Kumiko's jaws dropped in horror as she witnessed Mairu jumping through the air and latching herself onto Shizuo's back. She prayed to the one that watches that Mairu survives. She will not be held liable for any bodily damage…or deaths.

When Shizuo lifted a hand to grab Mairu on the scruff of her shirt collar, Kumiko flinched. _Is he going to fling her through the air like a paperplane?_

"Aiya, AIYAYAYAYAYA! Shizuo-san, you're damaging my shirt! It's stretching! Stretching!"

The man merely lifted Mairu off his back and brought her round to the front, staring at her through his shades.

S-should she go and a-apologize on Mairu's sake? Or maybe she should let the young girl handle it herself. If she interfered, will Shizuo dig her grave for her as well? Kumiko stared in apprehension beside Kururi who remained blank.

Shizuo raised an eyebrow. "Mairu, what are you doing here?"

The pigtailed girl grinned widely. "I came to see Shizuo-san~!"

_I think you meant stalk. _

Shizuo nodded, face saying that he did not believe her. "Are you here for Kasuka again?"

"Of course~!" Kumiko mentally slapped her forehead. What an ego bruiser.

"But I also came to see Shizuo-san, since you're super strong!"

With a shake of his head, Shizuo placed Mairu down without flinging her into a dump in an alleyway, much to Kumiko's surprise. She had no idea the twins were that close with Shizuo.

"So? You here alone? Where's your sister?" Shizuo asked, not seeing Kururi around.

Mairu grinned again and Shizuo repressed any thoughts of resemblance to Izaya. "Me and Kuru-nee are here with our babysitter~! She's taking us shopping for merchandises of Yuuhei-san!"

_When the fuck was it decided I would be buying more fucking merchandises for them?_

It was at that point that Shizuo turned around to look at where Mairu is pointing to, only to spot the other twin and Kumiko standing a short distance away.

Kururi nodded her head, and Kumiko waved nervously, her hello not even getting past her lips.

Mairu motioned for them to come over with frantic waves of her arm, and Kumiko touched Kururi's shoulder lightly as a sign that she should follow.

They made their way to Mairu and Shizuo, who looked at Kumiko in surprise.

She is their babysitter?

He totally did not expect that.

"Shizuo-san, this is Kumiko-chan, our caretaker, though you apparently already know each other right?" Kumiko's fingers twitched in slight annoyance. When was she reduced to a caretaker?

"I didn't know you babysat for that louse's sisters." Shizuo stated, hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Erm…err…yea…." Way to go Kumiko. The girl shifted nervously. And one of Shizuo's eyebrows twitched. She's still nervous around him? And she claimed that she wasn't scared a couple nights ago…

Mairu can't be stopped with any awkwardness apparently. "Anyways Shizuo-san~ We were wondering if you wanted to come with us today?"

Kumiko decided at this point she should just shut up and let Mairu do the talking. She is way better at it.

Shizuo looked down at the girl incredulously and with confusion. "What for?"

"Like I said, Kumiko-chan is taking us shopping for merchandises. Wont you like to at least see what your brother is doing~?"

Shizuo reigned his temper in. The twins were as messed up as their brother, but he tolerated them since they didn't manipulate people like their flea of a brother. "I don't really see the point as I can contact Kasuka anytime."

Mairu pouted and kicked Kumiko's feet. "Owww!" The girl winced, and raised her leg to rub at it. "W-what was t-that for?"

Mairu ignored her. "But Kumiko-chan here said she wanted to get to know you better~!"

"…..w-what? I-I d-didn't say t-that!" She protested and Mairu brushed it off, claiming that she was just being shy.

Shizuo looked like he did not know who to believe, though he trusted Mairu less- just cause of the way the louse's influence has rubbed off on them. If they weren't young girls, he would have already threw Mairu into a bin at that point.

"H-Heiwajima-san, it'll b-be nice if you a-accompanied us….t-that is, if you w-want and y-you're free…" Kumiko trailed off, one finger pushing against her burning cheeks. Fucking conscience. She promised the twins to take them out to see Shizuo and her traitor of her conscience is suddenly chewing at her that if she did not get Shizuo to tag along, she'd have broken her promise.

How the fuck did that work anyways? Wasn't her promise to just take them to see Shizuo? How did it end up with her having to pay for more fucking Hanejima fucking Yuuhei merchandise?

…she really needed to man-up. Her eyes downcast in forlorn at her constantly being taken advantage of.

With a grumble, Shizuo crossed his arms. "Alright, alright. Fine. Don't tell lies like that louse. It's not good." Shizuo reprimanded with his eyes closed.

Mairu grinned up at him slyly. "Who said I was telling lies?"

Kumiko and Shizuo looked at Mairu. "You just did." Red flushed her cheeks again when she realized the two of them spoke simultaneously. Shizuo blinked before looking away.

Mairu laughed/cackled.

"Shizuo-san….Kumiko-san….have good…chemistry." Kururi muttered softly. But it was clear enough for the group of them to hear.

Before Mairu can add any more of her naughty and unwanted opinions, Kumiko twirled both Mairu and Kururi around by their shoulders. "L-Let's go before it gets l-late, ne?" High-strung and stuttering, she nudged them forward. To her luck, they made no more comments as thoughts of Hanejima flooded their senses.

With a relieved sigh, Kumiko walked after them, stopping momentarily to see if Shizuo is coming.

When the man saw her looking at him expectantly, he shrugged and followed, lighting a cigarette at the same time.

Kumiko's nose wrinkled in reaction.

Shizuo noticed and gave her a small smile; bells rung inside her head. "Don't like it?"

Giving a small shake of her head, she replied. "N-Not really…" Then as if finally noticing what she said, she quickly added. "But if H-Heiwajima-san w-wants to, t-then by all m-means….f-free rights a-after all…" She mumbled the last part.

The blonde blew out wisps of grey as he spoke. "Shizuo's fine."

"O-okay, H-Heiwa-…S-Shizuo-san."

Shizuo's brows furrow as he kept an eye on the two twins slightly ahead of them. "Do you have speech problems or something?"

"Eh? N-No…"

Shizuo threw her a disbelieving look and Kumiko flushed red harder.

"I just g-get nervous around p-people I-I'm not f-familiar with…" _And people who are supremely scary. _

A grunt was his only response and silence descended on the two of them as they trailed after the twins who are now browsing stores as they passed.

"T-Thank you."

"Huh?"

She spoke louder. "Thank you." And clearer, much to her surprise.

Shizuo stopped to look at her with brows raised. "For what?"

"Y-Yesterday…for s-saving me from O-Orihara -san…" She stopped as well and bowed.

Shizuo waved her off and grumbled. "He's a bastard. You don't have to thank me for saving you from that flea. I wanted to beat him up anyways and you were in the way."

"O-oh…." For some reason, her heart sank at his words. It made her felt like a nuisance, an obstacle.

Shizuo seemed to have picked up on the disheartened tone of her voice for he tried to speak more gently. "You shouldn't refer to him so politely either. Orihara-san? Call him flea, because that's what he is." It didn't work too well since the topic is still on Izaya and anger just poured through him at the thought of that louse.

The corners of Kumiko's mouth tugged. "F-flea?"

"Yea. Call him that next time." Shizuo nodded as he continued walking. For some reason, Kumiko got the image of a tough instructor giving lessons; with the way he had his arms crossed and nodded his head with his eyes closed.

"A-Alright. Flea-san then." It sounded fucking stupid but funny.

"…." Shizuo stared at her for awhile before bursting out in laughter. It was loud and booming, but it wasn't unpleasant. Kumiko idly thought that she liked the sound of his laugh. He always looked so tough, angry and calm all at the same time and hardly smiled.

Mairu and Kururi stopped ahead and turned around to see what got Shizuo laughing.

"Flea-san. That's a good one." Shizuo said after he calmed down.

"W-was that r-really funny?" Kumiko asked with a blush, hands cupping her cheeks. She thought it was more stupid than it was funny...maybe he was the type that appreciated stupidity?

"The guy's a manipulative louse. It's just funny to hear you referring to him with such respect." And Shizuo thought that if she knew just what a bastard Izaya can be, she wouldn't even give him an ounce of politeness. "He doesn't deserve it."

"What are you guys laughing about?" Mairu and Kururi had walked back to where they were.

"The flea."

"Iza-nii?" Mairu echoed.

"C-call him a flea, b-because that's what he is." Kumiko said, repeating what Shizuo told her with a small laugh of her own.

The blonde smirked down at her. "You learn quick."

"Aiyaaa, Shizuo-san you're already corrupting our caretaker? Well, it doesn't really matter since Iza-nii will get hit by a truck sooner or later, and then we'd get to see Yuuhei-san."

Kumiko could only rub her head at the lack of concern the girl has for her own flesh and blood. Given that she isn't too fond of Izaya either from what she has seen of him, but isn't this too much?

Kururi tugged on Mairu's sleeve, and the younger twin recalled something. "Oh yea. Kumiko-chan, come here!" She promptly dragged the girl by the hand to a store, leaving Shizuo to walk after them at his own pace.

Looking behind, Kumiko flashed a small smile at the supposedly strongest man in Ikebukuro.

He isn't all that bad unlike what rumors make him out to be. And Kumiko knew for a fact now that she wouldn't mind befriending him.

Though all fluffy and puffy thoughts flew out the window when she was presented with the receipt for more Hanejima merchandises totaling 2500 yen.

* * *

**Wheee~ I got 10 reviews for the last chapter! 8D I ish happy x33 And Kumiko is craaawling out of her sheeell~ Hm, maybe I should have a chapter which shows how Kumiko is around her own family whom she isnt nervous around...She's pretty okay-ish around people she's familiar with.**

**And I am unhappy about the lack of Shizuo love on here =( and outside of here orz There isnt enough ShizuoOC or IzayaOC stories around sobsobcriestear. *is not a fan of BL*Anyone wants to make a temporary group with me to brainstorm OC stories for the two of them and then writing? Sorta like a group project, to increase the number of the stories XD I did it once for fanart regarding Prince of Tennis, so just wondering if it will work with Durarara and stories...Just drop me a note if you are interested, and I'll try to gather members =D **

**And keep the reviews flowing like you would wine guys~ my review whore side is singing~ I'm on a rooole guys, and it is all thanks to you =D *points to invincible audience* I see all the hits, and know you're there. Reviews = quicker updates, ya hear? XXD ...I dont think I can update quicker than this though x.x And school is starting soon DX **

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**4shadowedice4 - Dudette XD do dudes even write fanfiction...? x.x thats a food for thought XD awww I'm glad that you find my story quality consistent! I know my FL fic dropped in quality overtime sigh I'll try not to do that here! x.x And I guess it is cause Izaya's a creeper that we love him XD And thank you for reviewing again~! **

**ToonyTwilight- Thank you! I'm glad you're getting into it x3**

**self helpless- haha glad you loved that scene XD thank you for reviewing, again! *hug***

**Minichrome- aaand your pleads has been granted with this update =D thank you so much for reviewing the all the last chapters haha **

**PhoenixRage92- I see you're still around XD haha and thank you~! =D**

**NSRforevermore - haha least she was only a temporary shield XD She'll probably become worst in the future...dundundun! And thank you once again for reviewing! *glomp***

**Cocoasit- it's cause he's a creepy douche that we love him XD AND I KNOW RITE? I'm on Shizuo anger andrenaline!**

**Silverfish101 - I'm glad Izaya is not OOC x.x I never wrote creepos like him before so he'll be a challenge. Though Shizuo is harder at this point... and haha you kinda read my mind there about how to get Izaya interested...noooo. Thats mean the story wont be fun for you anymore =( I have to change my plans a bit then x.x but thank you nonetheless for the tip and reviewing! *air tackle***

**KatMeister- But I'm a mighty review whore x.x it's so shameful DX but lool I'm more to the Shizuo side, but I find it harder to write him than Izaya haha XD opposites attract or something like that? XD And Shizuo scenes are cute, thats why you like reading them =D Thanks for the review!**

**piggiehitman- I'm glad you dont find Kumiko to be a Mary-Sue =D hopefully it stays that way x.x And thank you for the review~! **


	5. The Wayward Flea

**Ahhh! Major plot hole! Just found out that the twins are 14! OTL 14 year olds with 17 year old babysitter? I don't think so…sigh. Will you guys be mad if I pretend they are like 12 here? XD Oh and lol the Trio are actually freshmeat/men apparently. Dammit. Some site said they were in their sophomore years but I couldn't be bothered to go back into the show to check -.-**

**Actually, freshmen makes sense, considering the story…bah. Imma switch to freshman and go back and make the changes later.**

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_~Fairyride~_

When Kumiko left school that Monday afternoon, she is wholly shocked at who she sees at the school gates, leaning against the metal railing relaxingly.

Crimson eyes glimmering underneath the burning sun met her coal black ones and Kumiko gulped.

Orihara Izaya.

He raised a hand and beckoned for her to come forwards, like the devil luring sorrow and sinners into his web.

Jerkily, the girl looked around, wondering and hoping that he didn't meant her. But the lack of bodies around her made it obvious he meant her. And so it is with much apprehension she slowly made her way over to the black haired man.

The terror that took control of her senses the first night she saw him is not present at the moment, though she could not help the prickle of caution and danger alarms ringing in her brain. She wondered whether it is because he did not hold a purely sinister look at the moment, although she could feel the malice that laced his smile.

A part of herself called herself a fucking retard, because she **should** feel danger as Shizuo is not there. If this guy tried anything, she would be defenseless.

She stopped a certain distance away, not disposed to getting any closer. Caution ruled her, after all.

….most of the time.

"Ya~" He smiled. It looked friendly, but Kumiko knew better based off the rumors she heard of him and Kida's warnings.

They said he is the most dangerous man in Ikebukuro.

….or was that Shizuo?

Both?

Isn't Shizuo the strongest? So Izaya would be the most dangerous?

But then if you're strongest, you'd also be most dangerous….

Or can you be dangerous without being strong and strong without being dangerous?

Kumiko is confusing herself, so she will stop there.

A grimace seemed to be on her face for Izaya smiled wider. "Something troubling you?"

His tone betrayed that he is obviously not interested in her well-being.

"W-why are you h-here?" Kumiko asked through clenched teeth. Her body was starting to ache from all the tension.

"Hahaha~ I just wanted to meet my friends. Am I not allowed to do that?" He grinned much like a bloody joker.

"I-I h-hope you d-don't m-mean me…" Kumiko muttered.

"But I do mean you~"

Unconsciously, her fingers curled around her Domo sling strap. She was starting to get so nervous that she dare not even move to push the hair that is in her eyes away. She dared not remove her eyes even once from this man in front of her.

"H-how did you f-find me?" She stammered. She was sure she did not wear her school uniform on the first night she met him.

It is when Izaya finally took a few steps towards her that fear actually coiled around in her stomach. The lack of fear is suddenly replaced with it returning full force.

The exact same fear she felt that night in front of Russia Sushi.

Only there is no Shizuo around this time.

He reached out a hand and lanky fingers slipped around her uniform tie, tugging on it lightly.

"Lucky guess." She saw a flash of something sinister in his eyes and sucked her breath in.

_The hell it was a lucky guess, faggit. _

Even if she was averse to danger, she's not enough of an assclown to know Izaya did not do lucky guesses. His calculating eyes and precise movements told Kumiko so much more about him than she would like to know.

But even so, she could not tell what went on in his mind.

Is she in any immediate danger?

**And there it was.**

That fear of danger. The alarm and dread throbbing in her blood.

And along with it excitement.

All feelings of boredom and normalcy fled her; peril and exhilaration taking their place.

It is a very confusing and mind-boggling feeling to have. To experience two emotions of such extreme opposites at the same time-

It is indescribable.

"Senpai!"

Kumiko jolted out of her thoughts and her unconscious staring contest with Izaya, looking behind to see her three favorite freshmen approaching her….or rather, they are the only freshmen who would approach her.

"H-Hi…all of you." She greeted nervously, exhilaration having left her. It was a short, fleeting spark that bloomed in her head.

The three paused when they saw who stood before her, and Kumiko noticed Kida tensing imperceptibly.

"Why is Izaya-san here?" Mikado asked, surprise all over his face. "Do you know him, Ishimaru-senpai?"

The girl stiffened, realizing now that if Izaya did not know her name before, he surely did have a huge hint now. All it takes is a trip to the school records and voila~!

Damning Mikado in her head, she mumbled. "N-not really…"_ More like he freaked the daylights out of me when we first met._ What's with that danger aura she kept sensing from him?

Not wanting to stay any longer lest Izaya starts getting any ideas – her eyes drifted down to where his hands are hidden within his pocket, probably fiddling with his flickblade – Kumiko bowed down low. "I-I have t-to g-go to an a-appointment now. I'll s-see you three t-tomorrow." She turned to the freshmen trio before giving a short nod at Izaya.

Turning, she ran off, not stopping till she was a distance away from the school.

She exhaled, frustrated with herself. What is it that she wanted anyways?

Looking down at her hands, she flexed her fingers; paint marks littered the tips of them. Her passion is art, and her dream is to become…something. An artist probably….but she didn't really know if she wanted that.

She is bored, and hated normality. Perhaps it is because she is an artist. Perhaps it is because she hated normality that she is an artist. Who knows, cause Kumiko herself doesn't.

Painting allowed her to escape her boring reality into a dream world where anything is possible, and everything is not normal or boring.

But it is merely that: a dream.

Nothing will change for her unless she did something to change it. Persistently painting and wishing, hoping, wanting, praying for that change to happen is not going to do it.

If prayers really worked, the world would have been a wonderful place.

She can't say she believed in God. Nor would she say she did not believe in him (or her) completely.

A good way to put it would be that she does not believe in him, but neither does she doubt his existence.

Looking up at the sky, she pinned the fiercest glare she could muster on the blue expanse.

_Hey, if you really do exist, I wish you would get off your fucking ass and help me make up my mind._

She paused in her thoughts as she went over what she mentally said.

_Or perhaps this is the way you're punishing me for cursing you and everything else all the time?_

Scoffing, she picked at a red paint mark on her thumb and smiled.

_I'm such an asshead. Talking to the sky._

What is it that she wants- Normalcy? Danger? Excitement? Security? Adrenaline? Calm?

Heaving a long string of cusses and sighs, she proceeded to the Orihara household when her phone beeped with a message from Orihara-mama, asking if she was coming.

_Orihara-mama, you have some fucked up kids with fucked up genes._

* * *

When she left the Orihara household that evening, the sun was beginning to set, taking its treacherous, unveiling, annoying rays with it. The streetlamps lit up along the road, and Kumiko walked with a slight bounce to her steps down the curb by which the Orihara house is on.

Today went fairly well, with hardly any damage being done and the twins forgave her for not having any new Hanejima merchandises since she bought them some last Saturday. Speaking of last Saturday, she had to thank this Shinra person if she ever saw him again. He paid for all their Russia Sushi expenses...courtesy of Shizuo's...persuasion. It was more that Shizuo offered to let him run some tests on him -Kumiko did not want to think of what sort of tests, since Shinra's eyes practically shined at the topic- and in turn, Shinra had to pay for all their expenses. It was a lie in the end though.

Mairu and Kururi had insisted on eating Russia Sushi since their brother brought them there before, and Shizuo followed, being the gracious escort he is….or rather, Mairu would not leave him alone and had no choice. He nearly blew his temper at her yesterday, cigarette already twisted in his grasp before Kumiko grabbed Mairu with quaking hands and bowed down to him repeatedly.

'_Geh….Shizuo-san is super scary, especially when you're the target.' _ Kumiko thought with a shudder, remembering his seething eyes.

Her shudders were ceased immediately when she turned the street corner only to come face to face with a red-eyed devil.

Her body froze with widened eyes.

O-Orihara I-Izaya…

The man smiled, and though it looked cordial, she felt it was anything but.

_S-stalker...?_

The way the sun's setting rays casted over him gave a red tint to his gaze, and drenched his figure in a shade of blood.

Kumiko could not help but compare him now to the ethereal look Shizuo donned, under the street light many nights ago.

_They are so different…it's just fucking creepy._

Her thoughts aside, she absolutely did not like it when Izaya placed an arm across her shoulder. Yet she could not help the adrenaline that pumped through her heart when he began directing her along at his pace.

To everyone else, they looked like a pair of lovers taking a night stroll.

Between the two of them though, Kumiko is deciding between screaming for help or going along and see where it takes her. Izaya on the other hand is just thrilled to see her confusion tearing her mind apart.

"And how did it go today, babysitter-chan?"

When he spoke, all mental activities ceased and Kumiko had to focus on just trying to speak. The fear factor he brought in made it harder for her to speak properly, more so than when she was with Shizuo or when Mairu held a stapler in her face.

"I-It w-was f-fine." She snapped, her mouth shut. Guess he finally knew that she babysat his sisters.

What was he again, an information broker was it? And a pretty good one at that, according to the rumors. Living in Ikebukuro, you could not go a day without hearing things about Izaya or Shizuo or that Dollars group.

She did not pay any attention to them before, but she was not totally blind to the rumors either; especially about this guy, since Kida specifically warned her to stay away from him at all costs when they first met.

He would have a fit if he saw her walking with him like a couple now.

Though she is pretty surprised he did not know beforehand that she babysat his sisters. What kind of a brother and son is he? ...Actually, dont answer that. He never came home once anyway, the whole time she worked as their babysitter. Things at home probably did not concern him too much, or he did not care.

Izaya let out a laugh that was pretty melodious, but she could hear the insanity that laced it. It is very unlike Shizuo's laugh, which was loud and honest. His is toned and veiled many secrets. She could not decide right off the bat whether she liked his laugh, like she did with Shizuo. He is…

An enigma.

"I can't believe you've been babysitting my sisters for this long. Most people would have quit already~" He laughed some more, and Kumiko tightened her hold on her bag.

"I-It's n-not that b-bad…" She said softly. Her eyes momentarily glanced down at the hand on her left shoulder.

"Heeh~ Then I have to applaud you. I can't stand them, even if they are my sisters, to be honest~" He waved talked freely and airily, and Kumiko remembered Shizuo's clipped and short way of speech.

"I s-see…" What else is she supposed to say?

"But you know, I think it is actually my influence on them that they turned out that way. Ironic, don't you think, since it made me unable to stand them~" He grinned and looked down at her. She kept her eyes on the road.

Kumiko had to wonder whether the screws keeping his head together are tight enough.

Izaya smirked, a short puff of breath leaving him as he tightened his hold on the girl and watched her flinch.

His tone dropped several notches, and turned almost icy cold as his warm breath tickled the top of her ears. "Don't need to be so tense, babysitter-chan~" Kumiko tried to keep her face void of emotions, though the war between excitement and fear once again erupted within her.

She knew, **felt**, that he is a danger- one that she should not mess with. Yet she could not help the shudder that crawled along her skin when he spoke lowly into her ear, and it would be a lie if she said she did not like it.

She tried to chalk it up to hormones and the fact that she was never this close to a boy before this intimately.

And Izaya isn't all too terrible loo-

_Halt, halt, halt! Brain fucking up here. _

This guy is DANGEROUS!

_So dangerous~ That girl is a- ...….ugh. Stupid English songs getting into my head now. Highly inappropriate._

Kumiko's brow twitched when she saw Izaya smirking down at her, giving her a look that made her felt translucent; like he knew all that she was thinking.

She hoped not.

Getting bored with the variety of emotions that played across her expressive eyes, Izaya continued his…initial stage of mind fuckery.

"You weren't this tense with Shizu-chan the other day~" This time Kumiko visibly winced and gasped, eyes darting to Izaya's ochre ones. How did he know she was with Shizuo?

"Don't tell me….babysitter-chan prefers Shizu-chan over me?" His hand disappeared from her shoulder as he twirled away to her front, one hand over his heart and the other over his forehead in fake hurt.

Kumiko came to a halt, biting her lips as she stared at Izaya warily.

_Excitement?_

Seeing a lack of response from the girl, Izaya straightened and his humorous grin was replaced with a sadistic smile.

_Or danger?_

He approached her and stopped mere inches away from her. She could practically feel his breath ghosting over her cheeks.

_Which is it, Kumiko?_

A glint of metal caught her eye, and before Kumiko could say or do anything, she felt something cold pressing against her neck.

Maybe danger is the right choice.

Terror flooded her senses as she stared up at Izaya's crimson eyes, swirling with intelligence and undecipherable thoughts.

"I will feel very sad if you did prefer Shizu-chan over me."

Her fear reached unreachable heights, and yet Kumiko did not move. Her breathing came out short, but remained even. And she could not pull her eyes away from his alluring red.

The blade pressed closer to her throat, and a prick of pain birthed at her neck.

Suddenly, Izaya smiled and pulled the blade away from her throat and started laughing like she told a funny joke or dajare.

"This is so fun, babysitter-chan~"

Kumiko could not find any part of it that was fun in the way he meant it.

He stopped and waved his hand in front of her flippantly. "Don't give me that look, babysitter-chan~ It makes me want to use this even more~" He said as he twirled his blade in his deft hands.

Her brows furrowed. She honestly did not know what to feel around this man anymore.

He emits such a carefree and childish air, but the atmosphere that surrounds him is dark and hazardous.

More than that, the emotions he pulls from her are just too extreme. Extreme in their levels and extreme in contrast.

She should by all rights scream in fear and rain anger down upon him for that stunt he just pulled. Yet she felt no anger.

Just fear and excitement.

There was no in-between.

Izaya smirked as he pocketed his flickblade, leaving his hand in his pocket. The smirk morphed into a jolly smile as he mocked bow down at her.

"I enjoyed our evening stroll together, babysitter-chan. See you soon~" And with a flourish, he turned and skipped down along the road. Kumiko just watched him go until he is nothing more than a spot in the distance….and then nothing.

_Orihara Izaya...is an enigma._

She stood there for a long, long time before she started on her way home.

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**Lol And I just realized Kumiko has to be pretty messed up in the head to STILL like either Izaya or Shizuo after the plot shit I will put her through….well, Shizuo more understandable than Izaya as that psycho will put her through the mauler, take her out and heal her, then put her in again lol hmmm plot hooooole OTL I think my Shizuo bias is effecting the plot x.x Or maybe it's just Izaya is so psycho, it turned out that way. **

**Bah, nuances….orz **

**And will people mind if I kick the cusses Kumiko does up a notch? I'm getting sick of the F word D: and I have a whole slew I wanna use but then people might get offended since they get really…yea XD I even have a curse words dictionary 8D And I absolutely loved it when Assassin's Creed's Caterina cursed - my lungs could not keep up with the laughing.**

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**FF makes me mad sometimes because at times, I cant access my Fairyride story at all (story not found apparently =.= ) and other times, all my reviews disappear when I want to respond to them OTL So blame FF if stories come out slower at times because...I'm waiting for my reviews to return lol till I get lazy in responding xD**

_**And anyone else wanna brainstorm OC stories with DRRR characters...? Kinda sad only one person wants to do so =( just brainstorming- you dont have to write; if the idea is good, I'LL WRITE ITTT! YEA! -bricked by vending machine-**_

**Rainbow Ryuu - I only update when I am either really free, really bored, or on a character high xD it is the third option right now haha *has a stack of homework to do* And imma make the twins 12 xD 13 year olds are considered...adults-ish in my place orz**

**ToonyTwilight- I'm glad you like Shizuo in that chapter 8D I was a bit worried he is OOC x.x**

**self helpless- YAY! Now I got one person interested at least OTL DRRR people needs moar love orz I'll PM you, and keep trying to find people too =]**

**Anonymous- I have the Verbose bookmarked =0 but I havent checked it out since I had it x.x darn- should have done it before I started writing OTL I just hope not many people will mind the age mess-ups and changes =/**

**Minichrome- lol yea haha I checked that Mikado and the rest were 15 at the start, but wasnt too sure how old the twins were =/ eehh.. orz I'll just dock their ages down a bit here... XD**

**PhoenixRage92- Flea-san for the moment till Kumiko sees him in a better light (if ever) 8D Shizuo's really a puppy, but a lion sounds cooler XD**

**Hawaiicraze- eeeh I find it easier to write crazy people since...they are crazy and almost anything goes sometimes XD Shizuo's so...calm, and cool and just pure RAGE XD I find it so hard at times to imagine how he would react x.x though it is easier for me to come up with romance plots for him than Izaya since...Izaya is Izaya orz**

**Cocoasit- I hope making you spazz is not a bad thing x.x dont worry, it'll slow down soon haha I got exams a week after school starts XD So updates gonna drop a couple notches...OTL awww now everyone is getting that I want to build Shizu's relationship with Kumiko first before Izaya =( Thats no fun OTL *tries to find a new plot* and yes, Flea-san XD Suits Izaya, right? xD **


	6. Doctor Dullahan

**Author's Note: I fear this may turn into more of a Shizuo story than both x.x Someone, help me raise my love for Izaya before Shizuo takes this over completely! *slashed***

* * *

_~Fairyride~_

Orihara Izaya absolutely loved humans.

The myriad of emotions that they could feel, attain and create- it was all so fascinating and exciting to him.

That of course, excluded a certain Heiwajima Shizuo.

That man is so basic, it pissed him off. The lowest of the lowest- a protozoan life form!

He is so absolutely simple and straightforward. And because of that, he never fell for Izaya's manipulations as he just tore through them in a straight line like a bull. He's too dumb to fool, and too angry.

Izaya loathed Heiwajima Shizuo.

And then there is that new insignificant girl who recently came to Izaya's attention.

Ishimaru Kumiko.

Nothing special about her, really.

She did not possess outstanding beauty- Celty's head had a far more beautiful complexion. She's average in height, though a bit on the short side. Her grades were average too, and her athletics along with it.

Her social abilities are less than average though, but that wasn't the point. Izaya could careless if she even had any friends and is a complete loner whom the world wants nothing to do with.

What interested him are the people she has associated herself with- Ryugamine Mikado, Kida Masaomi and Sonohara Anri. There is also the matter of his sisters. But more importantly, her connection with Heiwajima Shizuo.

From what Izaya gathered, they don't know each other that well as they had just recently met.

But that is fine. Because that's where the fun part begins.

He might not be able to manipulate Shizuo, but Kumiko is a different story. With the right push and pulls…

Well, we'll have to see how the story unravels.

Another matter that brought his interest in Kumiko is the way her emotions functioned.

He completely saw the two extremes of fear and excitement that she displayed in his presence. Her eyes were too expressive for her own good.

At the same time, he's guessing that her mannerisms betray her real thoughts and feelings. Their encounters were too short for him to gather much, and she was being ruled too much by fear and thrill.

He wanted to explore the depths of her mind, witness it and then watch it crumble at his hands.

To probe and fully bring out the puzzles of emotions that she experiences and harbors and their changes in different situations that he will, of course, be an instigator of.

It has been awhile since he came across a fine human sample.

The last girl, Rio Kamichika, turned out less than his expectations- he had full predicted her reactions.

Orihara Izaya grinned as he pushed a white Go piece on the board forward. Other white and black Go piece in addition to red and black checker pieces decorated the board in positions that only he could understand. His usual chessboard consisting of Othello, Shogi and the normal chess pieces lay next to this new board.

Shizu-chan deserved special treatment after all, for all his barbaric mindset, as he did not fit completely into his other plan.

Languidly, Izaya raised a black checker piece and studied it idly.

"This is going to be fun, babysitter-chan. I hope you don't disappoint~"

He placed the piece next to the white Go in the center.

* * *

Kumiko did not know what she did wrong, and would very much like to find out.

She did not know whether finding out will actually do her any good, but at least then she will have a conscious knowledge of her mistake that led her to being through the streets of Ikebukuro by a group of motorbike riding thugs.

She didn't even have any money on her!...not a lot, at least.

She had just left the Orihara household after another bout of babysitting torture, and was making her way home when a bunch of motorcyclists – with outlandish hair- drove out of a dark alley, looking as if they had been waiting for her or some shit.

Initially, she ignored them and decided to take a more crowded pathway home to avoid the brutish looking people. But then she noticed that they started following her on their bikes, at a slow pace, on the roads as she weaved in and out amongst the people.

She could have gotten all the way home, but she did not want them to find out where she lived- hell, they might attack her there and endanger the landlady as well.

So she tried to lose them.

_Not fucking working so far though._

Kumiko thought bitterly as she ducked onto another street, trying to hide in the mass of people. But these guys were seriously good at keeping her tail for some reason, as if they had someone specifically tracking her.

She should make her way to the police station.

But the closest police station is a ways off, and she wasn't sure if she had enough stamina to get her all the way there while running from them. Sweat was drenching her skin already, and her breathing rate has shot up. It wont be long before she felt contraction pains in her chest.

_Uggh, what the hell!_

She ran as fast as she could when she heard their bikes revving, and some of them laughing.

_Asswipes are fucking making fun of me. Damn them and their bitches of a mother, bringing these wastes of space into the world._

"Someone, help me!" She cried as she ran down the street, but people just stopped and stared in shock as a trail of motorbikes rode after her. No one tried to help though. They only gaped and stared like stoned addicts.

_Don't tell me everyone in this shit of a city are THAT averse to helping a bloody SCHOOL girl out?_

But if she really thought about it, there isn't much they could do when faced with personifications of steroids on bikes. Still, she wished SOMEONE called the police for her.

Her pants came out quicker and heavier as she ran uphill, and she cursed the city for having roads everywhere. Ducking into an alleyway, Kumiko tried to come out on the other end as fast as possible.

Reaching the other side, she emerged to find herself on a street facing several highway connections and damned her luck. **More** roads.

And then she paled.

**More** motorbikes.

Is this for real?

With dread and terror escalating within her, she turned and ran again as several buddies of those guys appeared on another street. They approached her from the front, while the others from the back, forcing her to take to the side and run up the highway instead.

She didn't know who they were, neither did she want to find out.

All she knew is that they have no actively harmed her yet, and seemed to be merely playing a game of cat and mouse with her. Her teeth chattered just thinking about when she finally gave out and they decided to stop their game of chase.

She tried to not think about that end and what they can and will do, focusing instead on running.

But where can she run to?

They cornered her whenever she tried to go elsewhere, and forced her further up the highway.

Were they going to make her road kill?

One rode up to line himself beside her and reached out to grab her arm. She screamed and literally flailed away from the guy.

She…she can't keep this up.

Is this how her boring life will end? Robbed, and probably raped before being left out to dry on the street? Perhaps they'll have enough humanity in them to roll her over under their tires a couple of times so she's unrecognizable. That way, the only people she knows won't be able to know it is her.

_Oh, what the hell….that's why they have DNA testing's…._

She thought tiredly, as she alternated between slowing down and speeding up.

Her legs ached from all the strain, and one big regret she currently had is that she did not participate in sports more.

Sweat dripped into her eyes, blurring her vision. She idly saw another figure in black approaching her from the distance ahead.

_Shit….another one?_

Her legs gave out and she crumpled as the sounds of engines pounded into her ears.

_Some life I led…being victim to gay as fuck men on motorbikes…_

She could not raise her head. It felt like lead sitting on her shoulders, dragging her gaze down to the ground, watching as sweat dripped down steadily to the floor.

Strangely enough, she isn't as scared as when she initially saw these guys. It's like the fear left her slowly as she ran. Maybe it finally registered in her head that she wasn't going to get out of this unscathed (perhaps even alive) and her subconscious has given up. Or maybe she felt that her life wasn't worth living anyway- it was so mundane. What kept her from taking a knife and stabbing herself so far is her parents; hurting them on purpose is not what she really wants to do.

The laughter of the men came at her from all sides, and she could no longer tell coherently where was left and where was up. Her head ached and rang with alarm that became distant thuds.

The only sound that she registered clearly was that of a ferocious roar.

It pained her ears to hear it and Kumiko wanted nothing more than for it to stop.

Why didn't they kill her yet? They are too fucking slow at this. Wasting all that time trailing her, laughing at her, cornering her like a sick Pac-Man game….it would have been faster to have grabbed her and took her to a warehouse somewhere.

Her arms withered underneath her weight, and she wryly thought how sad it was that she wasn't even going to know what she had done to warrant this.

_Stupid Ikebukuroites….not bothering to help. I hope tomorrows news will haunt them for the rest of their motherfucking lives. _

She felt a hand grip her shoulder and only one thought ran across her mind.

_This is it, I guess. What a waste of my life._

* * *

Kumiko woke up to a ceiling that wasn't her own, something she picked up on from long nights of staring up aimlessly into the concrete that made her roof. She could not remember what happened though, and only knew that her body ached all over- particularly her thighs.

Sitting up discreetly, she looked around as her groggy eyes came to focus.

Only for her to scream and pass out once again.

Celty jolted from her type-rant at Shinra and looked over to where the girl is passed out on the couch.

Shinra on the other hand stared at Celty and motioned to where her head is supposed to be located.

Reaching up, Celty finally remembered that she took the helmet off.

Flailing, she began typing frantically into her phone.

[Did she see me?]

"I would assume she did. I didn't see her wake up since I was too busy focusing on your beautiful body ges -owowowowow-!" Shinra cried as Celty pulled on his ears.

[What are we going to do if she saw? I shouldn't have taken my helmet off. But I didn't expect her to wake up so fast!]

Shinra shrugged and walked over to where the girl is and looked her over.

[I thought you said she probably would not wake till tomorrow morning?]

"I said probably." Shinra emphasized on the word. "Still, there isn't much we can do if she saw you without your head, and then screamed before passing out. That's most likely what happened." Shinra said as he gestured at her shifted position on the couch.

Celty sat on the other couch, phone in hand.

[I guess…we'll have to handle it when she wakes up.]

Shinra nodded as he pulled the blankets back up over the unconscious girl once more. "Do you know how Shizuo knows her? I didn't know he has a girlfriend though….actually, I didn't even know Shizuo knew any other female except for Izaya's sisters and my lovely Celt-Oof!" At Shinra's sidetracking, Celty threw a couch pillow over at the underground doctor who is much too slow to avoid it.

[I don't think she's his girlfriend or anything like that. He said that he only met her a few times, and he didn't know where else to take her after saving her from those men since he did not want to intrude into her home.]

Shinra pushed his glasses up and grinned. "I thought Shizuo would just break down the door of her house and leave her in there."

[Shizuo is not always that crass.]

"Yea, but a gentlemanly Shizuo? The idea is just otherworldly~!" Another pillow to the head.

[Review your own mannerisms before criticizing others!]

And with that Celty got up and made her way to the door.

"C-Celty? Where are you going at this time of the night?" Shinra asked as he watched the dullahan.

[I'm going to go see what I can find out about this.] She let Shinra read the text before typing another. [According to Shizuo's description, something seems strange about the circumstances which she was in. They weren't openly robbing her-]

"Yet." Shinra cut in.

[Maybe, but I don't think so. She was on a highway road-]

"But so was Shizuo." Shinra interjected once more, reluctant for Celty to leave.

[Shizuo goes there often since it is one of my usual paths. But for her to be there is different. If those men really wanted to rob or kidnap her, they could have easily taken her onto their motorbike rather than chasing her all the way up to the highways. It just seems strange.]

The underground doctor took a moment to read her text before smiling knowingly. "Izaya, is it?"

Celty shrugged her shoulder but responded nonetheless.

[That's what I want to check.]

* * *

"Ugh….my head…." When Kumiko woke up, sun was filtering in through the windows and her head had pots and pans going off in them. And her legs felt like a biiiitch.

"What did I do last night….?" She groaned as she sat up. "I had a really weird dream too…headless woman…I'm not even on thinner or anything." She muttered, rubbing her temple.

"Oh, you're awaker~"

"AHHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHHHH!"

The girl fell off the bed with a thud, sheets falling along with her as the man in the lab coat leaped back as well and dropped against the wall.

_What the fuuuuck? Why is there a guy in my-?_

Looking around, Kumiko finally realized this is not her room.

The blankets, the intensive sunlight that doubled the amount that usually filters through ther window, the larger bed…Where in the seven levels of hell was she?

The door slammed open and a woman in a black suit frantically walked in.

….

Wait a minute…

Blink. Blink.

"WHAT THE FUCK?"

Kumiko could not believe it. A headless woman.

Was she still dreaming?

She pinched herself. Wincing, she proceeded to slap her own cheeks several times when the headless woman remained there in her vision.

Maybe if she hit her head against the wall hard enough-

She squealed and backed away when the headless woman approached her cautiously, as if she/it did not want to frighten her.

[Are you okay?]

The phone screen glared at her painfully sharpened eyes, and the senior could only stutter after a moments pause. "W-what a-are you? W-who are y-you p-people?"

Shinra and Celty shared a glance (or what would be a glance if Celty had her head).

"This is going to take some explaining." Shinra said with a laugh as Celty's shoulders sagged. The girl continued sitting on the floor, staring with wide eyes, unable to peel them away from the black smoke drifting up into the air.

An hour later, Kumiko was given answers to all the questions she wanted- Where was she? What happened? Who were they? And what in the heck is this headless woman?

She stared with a blank look at the two sitting before her, hands gripped tightly on a cup of green tea which the….dullahan….had given her.

_Wow…._

Shinra waved a hand in front of her. "Uhhh…you alright, Kumiko-chan?"

_Just….wow…_

It was another 10 minutes before she remembered how to speak.

"So…y-you're a-a-a d-d-dullah-han then…?"

[Yes.]

…..

_Wow_.

There isn't anything else that can describe the array of emotions she was feeling and the disorder of her mind.

A creature of an otherworldly essence…is there before her.

When Kumiko first saw the…headless being- named Celty as she found out- she had cursed and screamed brashly out of pure shock and astonishment.

She had heard the rumors.

The Headless Rider.

So it was true after all.

She didn't believe them at first of course.

But with such blinding evidence here…she would be a fool to still dismiss it. After all, like she always says about God- don't believe, but never doubt.

This is one of those situations.

"You're taking this pretty well." The doctor who introduced himself as Shinra said with a grin, cheeks propped onto his palm.

Wow.

This is just…amazing.

And she supposed she is taking this pretty well. Maybe her subconscious once again has prepared her all her life for something like this; what with all her wishing that SOMETHING, anything, unordinary would happen to her.

[Is she really alright? She's not saying anything….And her stare is really starting to creep me.]

Spirits and such…they really do exist. And she is sitting across from one right now! Drinking tea made by one **right** **now**!

"Her eye tells me that she is still conscious…so I don't think she passed out with her eyes open…" He leaned over and inspected the motionless girl who just sat, eyes staring at the headless woman and the black smoke she emits.

This is definitely not normal.

Shocking, revealing and above all- enlightening.

That's' what it is.

[Ishimaru-san?] The phone was thrust in front of her eyes, but Kumiko did not see it. She just saw the dullahan.

This is what she wanted, was it not?

For some reason, the past week has led her to meet a strange array of characters; ranging from Heiwajima Shizuo to Orihara Izaya to this. But this one took the cake.

"Wow."

"Ah! She said something!...but not what I really expected."

This is **so** not normal. And definitely **not** boring.

Kumiko suddenly felt that her past boring and normal reality is suddenly nothing but a distant dream- a memory that never happened.

[But she's still staring at me!]

"Well, Celty is really beautiful- OW! It hurts, Celty!"

But where did she stand now then?

She has experienced and seen some awfully mind-boggling and question raising things in such a short span of time. It was enough to send a simple mind like hers reeling.

She did not feel that her reality is so normal anymore.

And yet, she is not directly part of the world they resided in: Celty, Shinra, Shizuo, Izaya and whoever others she has not met yet. The things they do, the things they possess, the abilities they harbor, the very essence of their existence…

She experienced close encounters with them, interacted and got to know their names.

But she doesn't feel different or special or anything.

All she felt is that it wasn't so normal or boring anymore.

There is still a rift between where she stood and where these extraordinary people stood. All these people who, with their few numbers, made Ikebukuro an otherworldly place on Earth.

At the same time, she cannot go back to her previous existence which she absolutely loathed for its normalcy, but loved for its security, now that she felt the dangers these guys bring with them.

It's like….she's completely isolated.

Stuck between two extremes once again.

She wanted to reach out and become something more, something otherworldly like these people; get away from normalcy and transform her life into one of adventure. Familiarity with safety though, made her reluctant to do so.

Indecisive and stuck once again.

Always, always, always….

Always wanting and then not wanting. Always active and then inactive. Always reaching and then stopping.

Always, always, always, ALWAYS!

It is **always** like this.

She is always like that.

And she hated it.

She is such a **fucking** hypocrite.

* * *

**I hate this chapter. It sucked. My mood went blah while writing this- probably cause school began and I have exams ONE week after school starts OTL fuuu!**

**In regards to those who wants to do the brainstorm session, just add me on remetherlence (and then the gmail thingy at the back, since FF doesn't allow us to put emails here x.x ) Of course, it'll be great if you all had an FF account to make it easier for me to contact you here XD Right now, I only made the gmail acct for google talk to do the brainstorm session, since it has loads of space and saves our chat logs for us lol but if you have other suggestions feel free; I was also kinda betting on the fact that everyone had gmail…ahahaha**

**And I'll create a forum thread for this brainstorm so whoever that wants to join in can just drop by there and raise their hand XD I personally prefer a live-time brainstorm than forum posting; what does everyone else prefer?**

**...I should find someone to spellcheck for me- I spellchecked on my own for this and I found a couple of mistakes where I typed different words fro what I intended =.= And I didnt even go through it properly lulz**

* * *

**Hawaiicraze- update rates dropping for a bit nao though DX school =( I'm trying to give equal screen time to both Izaya and Shizuo, but my Shizuo bias is making it really hard, since I have so much more of a plot story for him fleshed out than Izaya OTL Izaya just seems like a bastard in my plot plan atm orz**

**NSRforevermore – FF didn't let you access chapter 4? It's kinda annoying; I wonder if my fic is the only one with this problem since I can access other stories just fine OTL **

**Myriad- haha that's alright xD I'll reply regardless, anonymous or not =D**

**ToonyTwilights- or maybe it is due to my Shizuo bias x.x Izaya seems to have more of an antagonist role in my story right now…OTL**

**Psychotic Tendency - Yea, I knew they had only 3 years of highschool, only I cant figure out whether they were Sophomores or freshmen XD Clearly they are freshmen, now that I bothered to open up the first two episodes again and check haha OTL cant believe I forgot they just transferred to high school sigh I have such horrible memory =( But thank you for the info nonetheless, and for reviewing! Though I cant find any part of this story that is amusing... xD; It seems so bland =/ **

**4shadowice4 – yaay! Another person on board! And I think this brainstorm session will do wonders for everyone involved XD **

**Piggiehitman – But,but,but-! It does not seem biased now, but it looks totally biased in my head where I have the overall plot xD And it is funny, cause I came across a wiki site of sorts (forgot the name orz) and they claimed Shizuo is a gentleman behind all the rage talk XD And cookies to you for wanting to join the brainstorm~ We have more members now! **

**Nameless –haha I actually meant to spell it as faggit xD it is a different variation, and less used too x.x Sorry if I came across as a horrible speller =( As for spelling….I never go back and check whether I spelled or did anything wrong till a couple days after submission haha I suppose I need a beta to do that for me (since I submit as soon as I finish OTL ) but for the past chapters, I update like once a day so there wasn't even time for a beta ahahaha I have a beta, but she kinda ran off somewhere x.x And do you happen to have a FF account? It'll make it easier for me to contact you =) but the current form of communication for this brainstorm thingy is the gmail/google talk I mentioned previously – remetherlence. Anything with a nice chat log is fine though =D or we can all go to the The Colourless site and use their chat xD ...But yes- an FF account haha. I already messaged those with one =] **


	7. Seeing The Lion

**Author's Note: This chapter has not been edited for any deleted contented or spelling problems when transferring from document to FF. FF tends to delete some words or sentences off at times which I have to replace- I havent yet checked this one for that lulz Late, I got exams next week, and need sleep =D I'll do it this weekend or something XD**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Durarara! Or my family name will be Heiwajima.**

* * *

_~Fairyride~_

Her bag zipped up with a click, and Kumiko slung it over her shoulders as she turned from the room and closed the door. She had overstayed her time limit.

She wasn't hurt or anything- Shizuo found her before those guys tried anything.

Celty had explained that Shizuo was up on the highway path as well, [Smoking his lungs away again, most likely], she had added. And then he saw her being hounded by those guys and passed out when he went to her; Shinra said it was due to exhaustion.

_Hot damn, I'm so out of shape…I wasn't too bad in P.E class though…_

Worry and frustration bit at her heart, thinking of the fact that Shizuo helped her again. He must be getting sick of her by now- she had heard of his temper before. And being a damsel in distress for him multiple times is surely something he did not appreciate.

Another sigh. She was becoming such a sigh whore. "I'll have to apologize to him if I see him…"

"Apologize to who?"

"Geh!" Kumiko jumped, heart leaping to her throat as she whirled around. Oh, just Shinra…

The events from last night are probably still haunting her, causing paranoia….though she was already paranoid in the first place.

The doctor noticed the bag across her shoulders and looked up at her. "You're leaving?"

"Y-yea…I already missed school today…I should get back and try to c-catch up on my work…" She noticed she stuttered less, around Shinra and Celty. Despite her initial amazement, shock, surprise, horror, fascination and just being mind-blown, she found that she didn't feel all that nervous or scared around Shinra and Celty. This is an amazing feat, considering Shinra's profession and Celty's…well, Celty is Celty.

The man smiled as he walked her to the door. "Alright then, Kumiko-chan. Don't strain yourself. You might have pulled on your muscles too hard yesterday, so don't overdo it."

Haha…if he knew what sort of worm she was, he would not bother to say that.

The girl bowed deeply to him in thanks. "Thank you for your h-help. And tell Celty-san t-thank you too, for her help and bringing me h-here."

She waved goodbye as the elevator arrived and stepped in. Shinra went back into his apartment whilst adjusting his glasses.

Kumiko trudged through the streets and all the way back to her home glumly. She could not stop thinking about the men chasing her last night to be honest.

It was so…abrupt, awkward and unreasonable. They just appeared out of nowhere! And it made her suspicious; but about what, she did not know exactly.

She just felt that something is weird about it.

_Huh, probably cause I have never been in a situation like that before and people deem me worse than a lowly maggot most of the time…so I must have felt it weird I randomly caught the attention of illegal motorcyclists. How ass-licking special._

Sitting down on her bed, she scrolled through the contacts on her phone. They were the bare minimum. Her parents, the freshmen trio and a couple of other students whom she received their numbers from, but never actually called or been called on.

There really isn't anyone she could ask for homework help or notes. No one even knew where she lived. And she wasn't just going to call a classmate whom she's never talked to for the whole of last year and this year, asking for academic help.

It's just…weird, and strange. And she felt nervous as her finger hovered over the call button.

She's so socially awkward, it's not even funny.

'_I'm a sad, sad case of a human being…'_ Kumiko grimaced, rolling over in the bed and sitting up. For one reason or another, her thoughts drifted towards Shizuo, the man in a bartender uniform. Drumming her fingers against the bed, she pondered whether she should go and find Shizuo and thank him…it made her anxious to know that he helped her once again and she did not thank him or anything. It's mainly because of his renowned short fuse that made her feel like this. It did not seem to be a great idea to gain favors from volatile powerful people, and NOT thank them. That's asking for trouble in the future. And it isn't like she has anything to do at the moment.

Changing into a pair of striped green shorts and a red hoodie, she stepped out of room, locking the door behind her as usual. Paranoia and security addiction does this to you.

She resolved herself to find Heiwajima Shizuo, thank him and apologize for all the trouble she put him through. "Yosh!" She patted her heart that was suddenly breaking out in sweat.

_I'm going to do this! No backing out, Kumiko! I-It's just a short meet to say thank you and shit…no need to get all worked up…yea._

Finishing her pep talk, she jogged down the steps and out onto the streets of Ikebukuro, searching for the man who is strongest. If her friends from her hometown heard that, they'd laugh their heads off before brushing it off as a joke.

Kumiko and strongest does not go together in any sentence at all.

She was even nicknamed Wimpy-chan.

Looking high and low – mostly high, that man was tall- she searched for that noticeable mop of blonde hair that gleamed golden as the sun.

…Did she just say Shizuo's hair looked like the sun?

She must have been really shaken up.

But fuck, that man is hard to find despite his height, dress code and hair. He can really not be found if he did not want to b-

"Izayaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

The recognizable bellow attracted Kumiko's attention to a street up ahead, where people were crowding and some edging away.

She saw Tom amongst the crowd of people, smoking his cig and deadpanning at the scene, whatever it was.

She ran up to him, though made sure to stay on the side where less people were crowded. "T-Tom-san!"

The man looked up, and his dull look sparked a hint of recognition. "Yo, uhhh…Kumiko-chan, was it?"

She nodded. "H-How did you-?" The man replied, knowing her question. Is she like, an elementary school book or something? Everyone seemed to know what she was thinking lately.

Or that was the vibe she got at least.

"Shizuo told me." He said with a shrug and a puff of his cig.

"I s-see." She shifted a bit, avoiding a couple who were beginning to edge away from the crowd where a lot of clamor is originating from.

"W-where is Shizuo-san, b-by any c-chance?" She finally asked, not noticing the man around although she is sure that was his voice previously.

A green trash can went flying up in the air, and Kumiko watched it with wide eyes.

Tom pointed his thumb to the crowd. "In there. Brawling it out with Izaya." He sighed and slapped his forehead. "He always does this." And then he looked back at her. "I thought you got attacked last night? I heard from Shizuo."

The crowd suddenly parted, and the man who had her at knife point busted through the people, smirk on his face though annoyance laced it as well. Both Tom and Kumiko saw him running in their direction.

Kumiko heard Shizuo bellow out from behind him. "IZAYA! GET BACK HERE! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

"As if. Oh, hi, babysitter-chan." Izaya darted past and Kumiko watched him run by in a daze, hand waving absentmindedly.

And then another flash of black and gold went by her, followed by a gust of wind and a bus sign.

"STOP RUNNING! YOU BASTARD!" Shizuo did not even register her presence, unlike Izaya. For some reason, she felt a pinch in her heart though she brushed it off.

"Huh." Tom took his cigarette out of his mouth and dropped it into the cigarette bowl on the trash can nearby. "In any case, if you want to speak with Shizuo, you're going to have to wait. It's really hard to stop him at this point."

He motioned for her to follow him and Kumiko was apprehensive at first but decided to go anyways. Shizuo is a nice person…from what's she's seen so far and not based on rumors. And if he sticks around this Tom person a lot, then he must surely be a good person as well…right?

_I need to rack up my logic skills. It's worth dipshit. _

Keeping up with the man though staying back a step or two –giving him personal space you know…it isn't because she was scared of him or anything, really- Kumiko timidly asked where they were going.

"Shizuo will probably lose Izaya soon and then he'll come and find me. I usually go get some food at this time and Shizuo knows this. I'm going to get some ramen at a restaurant I frequent, and drop Shizuo a message on his phone. He'll meet me there after he's done with his chase, and you can talk to him then." Tom told her idly.

"O-okay…" Silence reigned in between the two of them for most of the walk, and Kumiko fidgeted nervously- it was discomforting and awkward. Tom does not seem to notice or care though.

"U-ummm…"

"Hm?"

"How are y-you and Shizuo-san r-related?" She has been wondering about that for a bit. She always sees them together often but never knew the reason why. They don't look alike, and Shizuo is brothers with Kasuka so it is unlikely they are family.

Tom looked at her for a moment, seeming to realize something. "I just noticed you call Shizuo by his first name now? That's awfully quick." Red zoomed all the way up her face at that statement and Kumiko was so flustered that her stammering became worst. "I-It's n-not like t-that! S-Shizuo-san s-said to c-call him t-that s-so I-" Tom let out a mellow laugh, and Kumiko ducked her chin in to hide her cherry face.

"It's alright. You don't have to explain. It's just like Shizuo to have you call him by his first name. Not that Heiwajima is a bad family name, but it is so formal. Shizuo is just Shizuo- that's how I see it anyways." He dropped a hand on her head and ruffled it. "Besides, you're only a student- a senior, judging from your uniform last time, right?"

Blinking, the red subsided from her face as Kumiko nodded, oddly…disheartened?

Shaking her head, she tried to rid herself of her wayward emotions as they stepped into the ramen restaurant. Tom got them a table fit for four people, and he sat across from her as he typed up a message telling Shizuo where they were.

Tom ordered a tonkotsu, large sized while Kumiko only got herself a small mango pudding.

"Not hungry? It's on me." Tom said with raised brows as they said their orders to the waiter.

"N-No…it's alright. I-I don't want to i-intrude."

The man shook his head lightly, disagreeing before speaking. "I haven't told you how Shizuo and I are related, have I?"

Shaking her head negative to his rhetorical question, he continued. "I was his senior when we went to school together, although we went to different high schools later on. A lot of things happened, but mainly to him." He placed a hand on the table and leaned on it, palm supporting his chin. "Shizuo's yellow hair? I was the one who suggested it to him to dye it."

Surprise overcame Kumiko. Tom told Shizuo to dye it? She thought that Shizuo did it of his own accord, considering the….image that is projected of him by all the other people of the city.

"Why?" She was actually curious. Shizuo seemed like a man who took no orders from anyone and Tom…Tom, in his suit and all, seemed like a very docile person.

"He got into trouble once. I won't go into details, but I suggested to him to dye his hair to keep unwanted people away." Their conversation paused as the waiter dropped a steaming bowl of tonkotsu in front of Tom.

"I see…"

"Well, as you can see and probably heard, Shizuo has one hell of a temper." He split his chopsticks apart. "So that's a problem when it comes to work, and I saw him again one day and decided to hire him as a bodyguard for me, since I work as a debt collector."

Kumiko paled slightly. "D-debt collector?"

He nodded. "Yea, since we run into some really difficult people in that line of work. With Shizuo with me, I feel and am quite protected; usually we don't have to hurt anyone since Shizuo's reputation does the work for us." He slurped a gulp of his noodles.

Kumiko kept quiet. A debt collector and a bodyguard for a debt collector? There really isn't much good said about debt collectors so she was really starting to feel apprehensive at the revelation.

Tom seemed to notice her silence and anxiety and spoke calmly. "I know there isn't a lot of good stories about debt collectors, but in the end, we're just doing our job, you know?" She kept silent but nodded again.

"I personally don't care what other people say, but I know Shizuo- he doesn't like violence."

Kumiko's face must have been one of amazement and shock because Tom laughed. "Surprised? Yea, most people are when they hear that; if, they even hear that. Most don't listen and that pisses Shizuo off even more." A look of dismay passed over him. "I told Shizuo that he doesn't have to use violence if he doesn't want to when working for me, but most of the guys we encounter leaves us no choice, or they antagonize him. He just can't control himself."

Tom paused in eating his food as he looked at Kumiko. "You're scared of Shizuo, aren't you?"

Slightly taken aback by the sudden question, she slightly nodded her head. "Y-yea…a little. But..." Tom who was about to say something stopped and waited for the girl to continue. "Shizuo-san helped me, quite a few times now. S-so…I feel that he is a g-good person."

Surprised at the answer, Tom smiled. "That's good. I told you all that because I didn't want you, or anymore people for that matter, to misunderstand Shizuo. He might probably beat me up for saying this or say that it is unnecessary, but I want people to know Shizuo." He picked his chopsticks back up again and frowned at the fact it has cooled a bit too much for his liking. "I know he's working for a debt collector like me, technically making him a debt collector as well- and there isn't anything good to be said about us, considering some of the things debt collectors do to people. And I won't blame you if you suddenly do not ever want to come into contact with us again." He clipped some noodles in between his chopsticks.

"But people like you, or rather, perhaps only people like you, are one of the only ones who can connect to Shizuo."

"E-eh?" Her cheeks became red again for the billionth time and she shot him a weird look.

Tom blinked and quickly put out. "Don't look at me like that!" He pushed his glasses up and sighed. "I can't explain it really well, but everyone is afraid of Shizuo, you know?"

Hearing that, Kumiko looked down in shame as well, knowing exactly what he meant. Before meeting him, all the rumors she heard of Shizuo terrified her. A raging beast, a violent thug who will not hesitate to beat you to an inch of your life and the list goes on.

And upon meeting him, and despite him helping her, a part of her is still afraid.

With so many who are fearful of him, Shizuo must be pretty….lonely.

Her heart sank at the thought, guilt and sympathy towards Shizuo tugging at her.

"Don't pity him." Tom said, looking back to his food. It seemed he caught her expression beforehand. "Shizuo hates that."

"S-sorry…"

Taking another bite, he smiled and shook his head. "Don't be. I just wanted you to know a bit more about him."

And Kumiko smiled at his words. He might not say it directly, but Kumiko can tell that he really cares for Shizuo. His conversation with her told her plenty of that, though he made it seem more like a casual convo about Shizuo's likes or dislikes, what he does and such.

And Kumiko thinks….no….**feels**, that Tom is telling her this one thing:

Don't back out on Shizuo.

Shizuo helped her out so many times and so much already. And Tom probably felt that with the frequency she met up with Shizuo this past couple of days, she might possibly keep this up instead, and not leave like everyone else.

Letting out a long breath, and steeling her mind, Kumiko silently told herself that she won't.

Her life is always normal and boring- because she never does anything to it, always staying in one space, torn between two things and never moving from where she stands.

This time, she decided, she will stick by Shizuo and not give into her fear of him and stay away.

It is the least that she can do for Shizuo- although she had a feeling that it won't be a good idea to tell that to the man. He might take it as pity. She did not know the man well, but she hopes with time, she will come to understand him more and possibly, hopefully, become someone who he can call a friend- someone like what Tom is to Shizuo.

And maybe her fear of him, dulled as they are now, will go away completely.

It will probably be hard, seeing how reserved Shizuo usually is but she will give it a try.

_Shizuo-san is probably really misunderstood by people….I think. I mean, even I have been prejudiced and biased against him before meeting him…_

And that thought made Kumiko wince, disgusted at her own prejudice. Especially after all that Tom has said.

Having resolved her decision, Kumiko asked Tom the most basic question to aid her in getting to know Shizuo.

"T-Tom-san…" He glanced at her, drinking his cup of tea. "W-what does Shizuo-san l-likes?"

Placing the cup on the table with a thud, Tom's eyes went upwards as he searched his memory. "Hmmm…he doesn't tell me much about himself, but I think he likes sweet food."

"….really?" Kumiko could not believe that.

"I believe so. Why don't you ask him for yourself? Here he is~!" Tom raised his hand as he flagged down Shizuo from the front entrance. Kumiko looked behind and found him instantly. It wasn't hard, considering his height and brilliant hair. "Oi, Shizuo, over here!" Tom called.

Raising a hand in silent greeting, Shizuo made his way over to the table. Before he arrived, Tom quickly leant over and whispered to her. "Oh, and be direct with him as much as possible."

Before she could question him about that, Shizuo reached the table. He regarded Kumiko with a bit of surprise. "What are you doing here?" He asked as he took a seat beside her, causing Kumiko to scoot over nervously to give him space. He needed a lot, considering his size and height. The girl looked over at Tom in slight disdain, for he sat with his arms spread out to either side- reason why Shizuo did not sit on that side.

He only shrugged.

"She's here to see you." Tom answered for her and Kumiko flushed, cursing the man in her head. For all his cool-talk previously, he didn't have to outright tell him that.

"Me? What for?" Shizuo looked over at her. Rummaging her brain for words, she was given a momentary reprieve as her mango pudding arrived. She already forgot about it.

"W-well, I j-just…" She breathed in deep, keeping Tom's words in mind. She might not know what he meant by that, but it probably had something to do with her speech…it is one of her most obvious…problems. "I came here t-to apologize!"

Shizuo frowned, and though she tried her hardest not to, a slight tremble of nervousness crept up her spine. "What for?"

"W-well, y-you helped me so many t-times, and even y-yesterday and I f-felt that I was being a bother to y-you like that so…" she trailed off and poked at her pudding, concentrating on keeping her eyes glued to the yellow jelly.

Unseen by her, Shizuo and Tom shared a glance. Tom smiled and raised his hands in the universal sign of "I Don't Know" while Shizuo snorted and waved a waiter down.

"Don't apologize. There isn't anything wrong with helping someone out. And those guys yesterday pissed me off with all their noise. It's annoying." He said with a grunt.

Kumiko smiled wryly and looked at Tom who gave her a glance that said "I told you, that's Shizuo."

The waiter arrived, and a bead of sweat rolled down his temple when he saw who he was attending to. "W-what can I get for you, sir?"

Shizuo shoved a thumb in the direction of Kumiko's pudding. "One of those."

"Right away, sir!" He scampered off and Kumiko's jaws nearly fell open in disbelief.

Did…did THE Heiwajima Shizuo just order a mango pudding?

"Do you l-like to eat s-sweet stuffs?" She asked, awe evident in her voice.

Shizuo's brows furrowed, and he scratched his cheeks. "Yea." There isn't anything wrong with liking sweet stuffs. He can like what he damned well please.

She blinked a couple of times at his answer before smiling, a light pink tainting her cheeks for reasons unsure to her. Perhaps it is because she found that fact extremely appealing, cute and adorable? Especially for a guy like Shizuo?

Yep.

That thought is locked away for her own pleasure though, as Shizuo will probably ground her head into her pudding if she said it out loud for his ears.

"I see. I love them too." A smile tugged at her lips, and Kumiko did not even notice that she hadn't stuttered. It did not escape Shizuo or Tom's notice though, and the man pointed it out to her.

"Hey, you didn't stutter." Tom said, slightly surprised. Seriously, the few times he met the girl, she never **not** stuttered. Shizuo felt the same way as Tom, surprise crossing his features as well.

"E-eh? I-I d-didn't?"

"Ah…its back." The debt collector sighed.

Brushing his hair back, only to have them fall back over again, Shizuo took off his shades and tucked them into his vest. "You should speak like that more often. It sounds nicer than with all the stutter." He mentioned bluntly, and Kumiko winced internally.

This time she really felt the heat crossing across her skin. To know her flaw and having others point it out to her occasionally was bad enough, but to have someone indirectly tell you that you sounded retarded stuttering was just….painful and embarrassing.

"I-I'll try…" Kumiko muttered, the bit of vice that welled up within her fading away as she took into account the fact that this is Shizuo she is talking to. The man's blunt nature suited the way he carried himself.

Said man's fingers started drumming on the table, and telltale sign of his raising anger became apparent as his frown deepened, teeth gritting. "Why is the pudding taking so long? This is too slow. Agh, how annoying." He growled and Kumiko gulped, trying not to lean away from the man who is fit to explode anytime soon.

His boss waved a hand in the air lightly. "Just wait for a while more Shizuo. There are a lot of people today."

And the man did calm down, somewhat. His shoulders relaxed, although the frown remained.

With nervous fingers, Kumiko pushed her plate of untouched pudding to Shizuo. "You can have m-mine, Shizuo-san. I haven't e-eaten it yet or anything s-so it's still…clean." She finished lamely, staring at the plate of pudding as her face burned, feeling the eyes of both men on her.

A moment went by before Shizuo huffed, pushed the plate back towards her and leaned back in his seat with arms crossed. "It's fine. I'll wait. You can eat yours first."

Their eyes made contact, and only now did Kumiko notice what a beautiful shade of brown they were. They are always hidden behind his shades and she's never gotten to see them without it until now.

Powerful and magnetic are the two words that she would use to describe them.

If eyes are windows to the soul, then Kumiko understood why his molten brown has such a powerful gaze to them. As to why they are magnetic….

She did not understand, but she felt it- this lure, this pull, as she looked into his eyes directly and properly.

When his brows furrowed again and his voice drifted into her ear, reality smacked Kumiko in the face. "Is there something on my face?"

At any other time, she might have giggled at the fact that Heiwajima Shizuo, the strongest man in Ikebukuro, would ask that question of vanity, as innocent as it meant, coming from him. But at the moment, she could only shake her head fervently as her skin burned with the fire of seven suns, staring with morbid concentration at her pudding plate. She saw Tom shoot her an amused glance out of the corner of her eye.

Her faced heated even more and she stabbed her spoon into the pudding.

* * *

**Last chapter had a significant decrease in reviews orz I suppose it was a pretty weak chapter haha...aiyah OTL**

**Please check out the poll on my profile page and vote whether you wish for Shizuo or Izaya to be the lucky/unlucky guy in this story~ By deciding early, I hope not to dig a grave for myself by leaning too far to one side XD But I THINK I may have come up with a plot somewhat for Izaya. There'll probably be breaks in between building Shizuo's relationship and Izaya's relationship with Kumiko; can't do the both of them simultaneously after all- they'll focus on tearing each other apart first =.= You dont have to vote now though- you can wait to make your decision and see who you like more =] the poll will be open for awhile.**

**And I butchered Tom, I know. But there isn't much on him, and this is my own interpretation of Tom (and also for me to move the plot along lol)- I think Tom really cares for Shizuo, you know, and Shizuo cares for him too ^_^ In a non-yaoi way haha I always felt they have this best buddy/ brotherly type of relationship lol I feel that Tom would be one of those persons who although does not outwardly go all their way to help out Shizuo in such matters, but he will privately, with people whom he feels he can trust, reflect and confide in them about Shizuo. I'm such a cheesy person.****And Kumiko "feels" a lot doesn't she? All OC needs some special thing about them, and Kumiko's will probably be her innate ability to understand and quickly connect to what others are feeling- ironic because she can't connect to her own. Lol Contradiction much? Yes, that's what she is =D**

**I have also created a community called Romance In Ikebukuro for DRRR fics with OC. If you have any or see any not listed there, feel free to tell me or sign up as a staff =] Also, I created a forum of the same name where the basis for brainstorming thing I mentioned can be discussed there. I currently have 2 who have successfully gotten on google talk, and will be brainstorming with them soon enough. Another I will prolly be doing through forum posting or PM as she cant use online chat. If there is anyone else who would like to become brainstorm friends, feel free to contact me/leave a message ^_^ It doesnt have to be abt DRRR always, just that now I am highly interested in DRRR so...yea XD**

* * *

**Psychotic Tendency- well, we want to begin the brainstorming thing with all the people available/that we can gather soon, so it'll be great if you can hop on board asap XD just log into FF and drop me a PM =] And I also hope for Kumiko's character to grow as the story progresses, so hopefully the cowardly her wont last forever- this is abt her character growth as much as her relationship with Shizuo and Izaya =D **

**Myriad- ooh haha I didntnotice they were for the same chapters; I thought it was for another since there was another anonymous review around the same time of your nameless review haha...I think XD I'm confusing myself lol**

**ToonyTwilight- thank you~!**

**NSRForevermore- Hmmm~ perhaps not mentally scar Kumiko directly...lol we'll see how it turns out XD I'm still turning and twisting different scenarios that can play out so it isnt set in stone, but Izaya will...well, lets just see XD Dont wanna talk to much about it haha SPOILERS! lol**

**Phoenix- haha Izaya's an awesome creeper though XD He's adorable in his own Izaya-way XXD **


	8. Unpredictable Predictions

**Sorry for slow update; Had been studying for exams...arrrgh- Oral exams tomorrow and I am writing DRRR! instead OTL Hamlet and Keats are gonna own me for sure now.**

* * *

_~Fairyride~_

"_Little girl, do you know what fairies are? No?"_

"_Then let me tell you…"_

"_Just exactly what they are."_

* * *

A loud crash erupted from within the ramen restaurant, and soon Kumiko is seen dashing out of it, flustered and fidgety as she watched from her post outside the restaurant.

A moment later, Shizuo stalked out angrily, a cigarette harshly grounded between his teeth. Soon after him, Tom followed out, apologizing to a man inside the restaurant as he left.

When he got to where Kumiko stood next to a very agitated Shizuo, he rubbed his forehead. "You didn't have to throw him all the way to the kitchen you know…"

Shizuo growled. "He was annoying. I don't like him."

The girl remained silent, choosing not to voice her opinions. Honestly, she thought it was unnecessary for Shizuo to take out the poor waiter so harshly, even though he was being a prick.

She briefly wondered if she will even last long enough to know Shizuo better. Or will he one day raise his fist against her too? The thought made her tremble, but she clung to the fact that she is a girl, and that he hopefully goes easier on them…somewhat.

Tom rolled his eyes and checked his watch. "I didn't even notice it was getting this late."

At his words, Kumiko flipped her cell open and looked at the time as well.

8pm.

Wow. She hadn't realized the time passing at all. She spent an hour straight, give or take, with a debt collector and Heiwajima Shizuo without passing out or anything.

Her parents, if they knew the full situation, would have been so proud.

"I…should p-probably head home n-now." She announced, turning to Tom and bowing low. "Thank you for the f-food."

"Don't mention it. You sure you'll be alright walking home alone? Especially since you got attacked last night….did you know who they were?" He asked. She shook her head.

"No…I….didnt file a p-police report or anything…and I don't have a-any info on them either. They were all wearing h-helmets." Head downcast, she felt silly for not even noticing any prominent features that may possibly aid in identifying her attackers. Did she even want to lodge a police report? It'll lead to so much media and trouble…and she didn't really want all that attention.

"Hmm~ Wait though- Shizuo! You helped her. Didn't you see anything?" Tom turned a questioning brow to the taller man who is now calm and placid.

"…No. I just beat them up and threw them over the highway." Tom shot Shizuo a blank look, one which the other man returned with an apologetic one- or as apologetic Shizuo could get.

"It's alright, r-really. I…should really head h-home now." Kumiko bowed once to Tom, and then bowed another time to Shizuo. Standing straight up, she allowed a small smile onto her face before stepping away and walking down another street.

It wasn't long on her way before she heard someone call her name…or at least something similar to her name.

"Ishigaru!"

Finding it amusing that this person shared such a similar name with her, she did not acknowledge it either for it wasn't hers.

"Ishigaru!"

The voice bellowed and this time Kumiko stopped in her tracks. She had turned down another street and still this person is-

"Ishigaru." A hand fell onto her shoulders and Kumiko looked up with a start into the shaded eyes of Shizuo.

"S-Shizuo-san?"

The man frowned at her. "Why didn't you respond to my calls?" She could hear the anger and annoyance lacing his voice. But the confusion remained on her face.

"That w-was you?" She asked, and Shizuo nodded, frown still creasing his forehead. "I d-didn't realize you w-were calling m-me…" her voice trailed off as a blank look started to replace her confused one. _Don't tell me….he messed up my name?_

Ishigaru?

Shizuo shot a look. "Your name is Ishigaru, isn't it?"

"…..n-no." She squeaked softly under his stare, fearing the repercussions of correcting him.

Shizuo stared at her with a straight face before his mouth dropped open into an 'O.'

"Sorry…" He muttered, looking away and scratching his cheek with a finger.

Kumiko smiled, shaking her head. "It-'s o-okay…It's Ishimaru."

The man tsk-ed, bringing out his cigarette pack. "I thought Ishigaru sounded weird." He lit up a cig which caused Kumiko's nose to wrinkle once again but she brushed it off. If she is to try and become friends with Shizuo, she would have to first accept his…flaws.

And that means his smoking.

"W-Why are you here?" She asked, eyes involuntarily following the trail of smoke from his cigarette.

"Tom-san told me to take you home." He took the cig out and breathed. "Seeing as you got attacked last night for absolutely no reason, it's reasonable."

"Oh…"

Silence reigned in between them. Shizuo seemed content to not say anything, though Kumiko can't really tell. His posture remained as it usually is, and his eyes were shaded once again. She desperately wanted to say something, to strike conversation, but she did not know what to draw on- what to say to this man who was a ticking time bomb.

Wrong word and BOOM!

_Goodbye sweet life…._

Her thoughts trailed off, cutting themselves before they reached any hell raising cursing. Wasn't she being judgmental of Shizuo, thinking of him in such a way? Fearing him, not knowing what to say lest she pissed him off, thinking of him as a bomb….

She was being prejudiced against him once again.

Involuntarily, her mouth tugged as she let out a silent wince, unnoticed by Shizuo who walked two steps ahead of her with his long strides, even though he had slowed himself down so that she did not lag.

If she truly wanted to fulfill that impromptu resolution she made, she would have to accept Shizuo and stop these kinds of thoughts.

She would have to learn to be herself around him.

The self she usually is around her parents, her friends back home- and the occasional time she was with the Orihara twins and even the freshmen trio. Rare were the times she was open around them, but they did occur….once in a blue moon.

To her, it was a sign that she accepted them, and considered them close friends.

She needed that same sign to appear with Shizuo.

A gulp ran down her throat. It was going to be hard, because no matter how she tried, the visage of destruction that she's seen around Ikebukuro, the bloody bodies and smoke- they were real and she knew it was from him. Everyone knew it was from him.

Sucking in the dusty night air, she caught up with Shizuo, attempting to match her strides with his.

Maybe it was due to moving to a new and foreign place without anyone she knew accompanying her that she turned out like this in Ikebukuro, but back in her tiny hometown, she had a close knit of friends; little friends, but she was extremely connected with them.

That was the kind of person she was. Introverted, was that what they called it?

Regardless, friends always walked side by side together, never going too far ahead or leaving another behind. She did not want to force her friendship on Shizuo, but she's going to try nonetheless- beginning by catching up with him instead of staying behind; staying away.

Shizuo glanced down to his side, brow tugging in confusion as to why the girl was walking so fast.

….Was she trying to keep pace with him? Or did she just want to get away from him quickly?

Slowing his already slow gait, he watched as the student slowed as well, looking up at him with a questioning glance.

"What are you doing?"

"…s-sorry?"

Huffing, he continued walking at his previous pace, brushing off her curious antics as unimportant in any case. Still, the man who everyone is fearful of and always left to either lag behind or walk ahead alone could not help the small bout of appreciation he felt tug in his heart towards the girl.

He wasn't blind to the trembles that occasionally ran down her arms, neither was he blind to the apprehension that glimmered in her eyes. Years of seeing them in various people had made him an expert of sorts in detecting such emotions and feelings.

Yet, Shizuo got the feeling she was trying hard to not be scared.

For that, he was grateful. As no one has tried that for a long, long time.

All the girls that he ever tried to love, and tried to love him, had been pushed away because of his own lack of control and power to contain his own strength. Irony much?

He might be a hardened man on the outside, but no human is ever immune to injuries of the heart….except that bastard of a human Izaya maybe.

A bitter sort of taste arose in him when he thought back on the people who finally left him. And he can't help but come to the thought that in the end, this girl will probably leave as well- like all the others before her. Rare were the people who did not leave, like Tom, Shinra, Celty and even Izaya to a certain extent, as much as he hated to admit that (although he would rather that Izaya leave).

He never was able to control his own power, and gave up trying long ago. And though it was a long time since anyone like her came along and tried to acquaint them with him, he doubted that his way is going to change because of one school girl.

Shizuo nodded at her mutely as she bowed low, thanking him in that mouse squeak way of hers before climbing up the stairs leading to her home.

Watching the door close behind her, Shizuo turned to leave- already accepting the fact that one day soon, he will no longer be walking her to her home.

The last of his cigarette burned out into ash.

* * *

"I can get it for you, but of course, I will charge extra~ Even if you are my regular." Izaya spoke into his office phone, as he leaned lazily against his desk. Molten eyes ran across the two board pieces on his desk top, one outlining the state of Ikebukuro's main forces and the other displaying the route his quarries will be forced into.

"I'll have the info sent right over then. Nice doing business with you~" With a click, the phone snapped shut and Izaya let an amused grin play across his lips.

Rubbing his chin, he examined the board. "An interesting turn." He picked a black checker piece off the board and replaced it with a red. "Not what I wanted, but it's close enough. Perhaps even better." Reaching out, he pushed a black Go piece along in its place from the board corner, knocking out a few black checker pieces that were stacked together.

Smirking, he leaned back to examine his work. "This is fun indeed."

He could not wait for the climax to arrive.

* * *

"W-what kind of person is Shizuo-san?" Kumiko asked as she watched the twins with hawk eyes, making sure that neither have any secret weapon stored- Mairu especially.

Twins they may be, but they were completely different people- so different that it was scary.

Kururi sat properly at the desk as she looked over her maths homework, whilst Mairu was staring flames into her notebook on the bed. Kumiko chose to sit on the floor, at a reasonably safe distance from either twins. If anyone asked Kumiko to choose who she would rather die at the hands of, she will never be able to choose between either twins.

Mairu definitely will have some sort of physically painful and blunt in store while Kururi on the other hand….maybe choosing her is better since you probably will not know when your deaths will hit you.

Either case, they were better than their brother. From what she's seen of their brother anyways, he did not have his head screwed on right. She probably did not either for not even screaming when he pulled that knife on her.

"Why? Does Kumi-nee like Shizuo-san? As long as you don't touch Yuuhei-san, you can have sex with Shiz-"

"M-MAIRU!" Kumiko cried in embarrassment and horror at the words leaving the girl's mouth. A part of her cringed at the fact that she was more of a prude than Mairu, who was her junior by enough years.

"He's….strong…." Kururi muttered from her seat and Kumiko sighed, the heat on her cheeks leaving her.

"I already knew t-that…" It doesn't seem like she will get much from the twins about this enigmatic man. They are too focused on his brother. Maybe if she had the chance to meet him, she would be able to attain more info about Shizuo?

…Probably not a good idea. The twins might throttle her for even talking to Hanejima Yuuhei.

"You can ask Iza-nii about Shizuo-san~!" Mairu said with a light smile as she rolled around on the bed. "He knows everything! Though since he does, he probably knows that we will get introduced to Yuuhei-san by Shizuo-san if he jumps in front of a truck and die. But he won't!" A pencil went through the bed, courtesy of Mairu.

Kumiko pondered Mairu's words, though a part of her screamed insanity. It was too much, just to know Shizuo better. Izaya was fucking crazy, keeping a knife on him and using it and all. And he and Shizuo did not seem to get along at all.

It just wasn't worth going to him about Shizuo.

She should instead take it slow and easy and get to know Shizuo on her own time. For some reason, she was inexplicably excited whenever she thought of befriending Shizuo.

Perhaps it is because she has never resolved to do anything before- and the task of befriending Shizuo is otherworldly and just…mind-boggling, considering all the news, rumors and ruckus he causes.

It was like trying to get close to a God.

Rubbing her chin, Kumiko drummed her fingers across her ankle. She has home economics class tomorrow at school…

_Maybe I should make him something then! _

Yea, why didn't she think of that before? He likes sweet stuffs, so she can make something sweet for him. A baked treat certainly sounds like a good way to get on someone's good side.

_But won't I look like a desperate whore doing that so early on?_

Groaning, her head dropped into her lap as the twins shot glances at her odd behavior. They've never seen their babysitter this way before.

"Kumiko-san….alright?" The girl looked up when she heard Kururi addressing her and shot her a small smile.

"I'm f-fine, Kururi."

Nodding but not pushing it, she turned back to her maths homework and Kumiko went back to her musings. She should just make him something- and some for Tom-san too, so that she didn't come off as some fangirling stalker or anything.

When she left the Orihara household later that evening, Kumiko dropped by a bookstore which she frequented but never bought anything from. She was hard pressed for money for other things as it is.

At the cooking section, she flipped through various baking books, settling to make Okinawan fritters. She had eaten them before when visiting her grandma in Okinawa several years ago, and they were certainly pleasing to the buds. She just hoped she would be able to make them well and not cause a gag reaction.

Looking around, she sneaked out her notepad and mechanical pencil, scribbling down the recipe to avoid having to buy the book.

"Copying from the book without buying is like stealing, isn't it?"

The voice by her ear made her blood stop flowing for all of a nanosecond before she reacted with a gasp, jumping a feet into the air.

Orihara Izaya looked down at her with a smile that did not reach his eyes, and she wrinkled her nose, grasping the items to her and whirled around so that she did not have to see his eyes.

They unnerved her- for good or bad, she wasn't too sure.

"O-Orihara-san does a l-lot of things as w-well, so I don't t-think you have the r-right to say that to m-me…" Holy mother with sprinkles on top; she could not believe she just said that, as mousey as it sounded.

Izaya could not help the widening of his smirk. So she did have a backbone of sorts after all~ Things might turn out a bit more different from what he has predicted if she used it more often.

He wasn't stalking her- noooo. It wasn't worth his time, at the stage things were at, to actually actively search for the girl. He was buying fatty tuna for himself- the package hung from his right hand- when he saw her walk into the bookstore. She had not noticed him follow in after her, watching as she browsed the various cookbooks.

"Are you planning to bake something? I prefer my food to not have canned food in it, just so you know first." He said as he stepped towards her, watching as her shoulders stiffened but continuing writing – and ignoring him- regardless.

"I s-see…" Sad, her backbone was gone. He had expected another comeback- then again, this wasn't too unexpected either. Hmmm, his interest level in her went down a little, but it did irk him some what she did not react the way he predicted.

Wide and fearful eyes, inane stuttering and utter submission: that was what he had predicted of her.

Fear and stuttering were still present within her, but they were not prominent enough.

What prompted this small change in her? Was it the lack of physical contact or a knife, like several nights ago? Perhaps the motorcyclists incident made her a little bolder? Or perhaps…

Kumiko bit down hard on her lip Izaya spoke directly over her shoulder, his breath fanning across her cheeks. "Okinawan fritters?" He said with an amused sort of tone that veiled dark thoughts. "I love those~" Not really he didn't, but whatever.

She paused in her writing, head looking to the side slowly. A gulp rammed down her throat when she came into eye contact with his burning brown so close to her. "I didn't k-know you l-liked sweet things, O-Orihara-san…"

When the words left her mouth, his lucid smile turned into a downright cocky smirk. "Of course you didn't. Before meeting me, you had no idea what I even looked like, needless to say what I like or don't like." Izaya straighetened and leaned against the shelf right beside her, his confident lips shriveling whatever self-esteem Kumiko had.

"But you need not feel bad for not knowing since you've been living quite a sheltered life all this time .The amount of knowledge you do not have of me is beyond infinite, and you will never know more about me than what I let you on- unless you decide to venture out and search. But babysitter-chan, you don't have such courage to do that, do you?" He looked directly at her as he asked her that question, liquid eyes piercing into her very mind.

No…She didn't.

Kumiko did not answer, but she had a feeling she did not need to for that knowing grin he sent her told her that he knew her answer, as reluctant as she was to admit it.

Stuffing his hands into his hood pocket, Izaya scoffed and looked at the ground, pretending as if the wood paneling were the most interesting artwork in the world. "I won't let any info about myself out anyway to people whom I don't trust." His words came out low and dark.

Was there even anyone he trusted? That was the thought that ran through her mind.

Suddenly, he reached his hand out and plucked the cookbook from her hands.

"H-Hey!" Her protest ceased as curiosity took over her, watching as he carried the book to the counter...and paid for it.

Appalled as to why he was buying a baking book, she could not help but feel pure surprise when he turned around from the cashier, gave her smirk-grin hybrid, and tossed the packed book into her hands.

"Wha…." The shock remained on her features as she watched his figure leaving the store.

"I expect something in return for that book, babysitter-chan. There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world after all~" With that, Izaya skipped out of the store and down the street.

Staring after him dazedly and still in stupor, it took a few moments for Kumiko to recover herself. Looking down at the book, the girl naively thought that he meant baking something for him in return. And so she had decided before she even knew it to make some Okinawan fritters for Orihara Izaya as well.

And in the city, only Izaya knew that he did not mean Okinawan fritters. Because really, why would he eat something that she initially meant to make for Shizu-chan?

The thought made him sick.

* * *

**Reviews please? =( *mopes and kicks rock* **

**I'm gonna try and not drag this story out too long like I did in my FL fic…I will develop relationships, but it won't take like 20 chapters to do so (I have such bad pacing). The relationship can take its course over the…relationship. Sigh. I'll try at least….*has a bad habit for detail and long development timelines* Someone also gave me the concept that Shizuo probably gets attached quickly to people lol being alone most of the time and all...I will try to incorporate that since it does seem very Shizuo-ish, but perhaps not too quick since he is still wary...aieee-! I CANT THINK! ARGH! HAMLET! **

**Kururi also talks in a very strange way, but I cant be bothered to use it since it might make things confusing DX hope you guys don't mind.**

**Reviews, reviews, reviews and save me from this literary hell~**


	9. Changeling's Currency

_~Fairyride~_

"_Aren't they creatures of grace and charity, you say?"_

"_Perhaps they are, perhaps they aren't."_

"_Who knows but the faeries themselves."_

Kumiko walked down the school hallways with a light step that was uncommon to her usually slouched figure. Several students whispered at the oddity of the sight, but made no move to confront her about it. It wasn't really that important anyway.

Before leaving the school grounds, she stopped by the classroom of her favourite (only) freshmen friends. Instantly, she was easily able to spot Kida's mock of bright hair that reminded her slightly of Shizuo's brighter ones, alongside the dark ones of Mikado.

"Ryugamine-kun, K-Kida-kun…" She stepped into the classroom hesitantly, knuckles poised lightly against the door. Majority of the students had already left; only the two and several others remained, lagging behind everyone else in their chatter.

The two were definitely surprised to find her there at their classroom, as this has never occurred before. Kida was quick to recover though.

"Ahhh~ Kumiko-senpai! Seeing your face after a hard day's work is like the light at the end of the tunnel~!" With a flourish, Kida bowed and grasped Kumiko's hand in his, swift eyes quickly noting the small bag she held in her hand. "And what is this? You even brought me a gift~?"

_She didn't say it was for you…_ Mikado thought with a deadpan at his friend.

"Uh, a-ah…" Holding out the bag for him, she nodded with a slight flush of embarrassment. Really, why in the names of all that is unholy was she getting so flustered for? She was a senior and they were freshmen for God's sake.

Clasping her hand and the bag in his hands, Kumiko swore Kida exuded sparkles all around him. "I'm so happy! Have you finally realized my irresistible charm and decided to show your love for me by cooking for me? Something that is made with all of your love, I will definitely cherish!"

"…Ahhh, i-it's for you, Ryugamine-kun and Sonohara-chan to s-share…." she mumbled, inconspicuously trying to pull her hand back.

Mikado saved the day by taking it upon himself to break Kida's hold on the senior's hand once seeing her discomfort. "Thanks a lot for that, s-senpai!" He thanked the older girl once successful in his task and bowed. "S-Sonohara-san already left though, but we'll be seeing her on the way out so we'll hand them to her then."

Kumiko could not help the small giggle that left her when Mikado stuttered over Anri's name. She found the boy's crush on the girl adorable.

_Wish I had someone crushing on me too..._

Gold flickered in her mind, and she shook her head to dispel the thoughts.

"It'll be great if you did that f-for me. I hope y-you'll like them." With a shrug and a smile, she walked out of the classroom. "I'll see you guys t-tomorrow then. Bye~"

Watching as their senior left down the corridor, Kida prodded Mikado, eager to see what was in the bag.

The two opened it and a sweet smell wafted out from the white box in the bag.

"Ooooh~ Fritters!" With a gush, Kida chomped down onto one instantly, and would have chomped down on another two had Mikado not pulled the bag out of his reach. "Kida-kun! This is for us to share!"

But curiosity getting the best of him at Kida's ecstatic face, Mikado bit into one himself. He was pleasantly surprised at the fritters, finding them to be quite sweet and delicate.

…Maybe it was a little **too** sweet…

_I never knew senpai could cook…she always seemed so clueless…_ Pink dusted across Mikado's cheeks when he realized the horrible thought he had of his senior.

"It was delicious, wasn't it? Kumiko-senpai made it with all her love, after all!"

Mikado laughed, easily brushing off Kida's antics. He, however, would be blown over if he ever found out that Kida was mostly right; that Kumiko made the fritters with all her love.

Well, maybe not love literally…Moving on—

After dropping some of the fritters off at the Orihara household as well, Kumiko moved to find Shizuo around the city. Izaya….she wasn't too sure if she wanted to give any of the fritters to him, but she did make two batches on purpose in her class today with the intention of giving some to Izaya. Unless Shizuo decided to take the rest, she would probably hand the rest to Izaya, if she saw him… If not, she would eat them herself. He did get her the recipe book for the fritters, even if he seemed all too suspicious to Kumiko.

It wasn't her place to question or doubt though- everyone had secrets. She too had her fair share. But the idea of walking up to Izaya and giving him the fritters still unnerved her.

Her brow furrowed when she thought of how sweet the fritters were. Perhaps a little too sweet… She must have measured the sugar wrong, or someone added something when she wasn't looking. But there wasn't anything she could do about it now, so she hoped that Shizuo loved extremely sweet things.

It wasn't too hard to find him, to her surprise. She had expected that it would have taken more work to find him. Really, all she had done was go up to a few people, ask them if they had seen Heiwajima Shizuo and they would quickly send her along on her way. Then again, Shizuo was pretty infamous/famous in the city, and was easily recognizable by anyone who lived there for more than 24 hours. One man had turned pale instantly when asked, and kicked her out of the shop. Idly, she wondered if he was in debt with Tom-san.

With directions from a shady looking but nonetheless polite man, she headed to the street nearby Minami Park. On her way, she accidentally bumped into a couple: a boy in a grayish shirt and a girl wearing a cap over her head. Apologizing profusely, her wandering eyes could not help but notice the strange scar across the neck of the girl. But she said nothing, as it wasn't really her business.

Half an hour later, she finally found the man she was looking for. She would have been searching far longer if the dust of smoke did not rise, drawing her body towards the crime area.

At the center of the commotion, Kumiko found Shizuo casually lighting a cigarette while a whole street lamp lay uprooted several feet away from him- a couple of unconscious men littered the street.

She could not help but wince. Did violence really have to follow him wherever he went?

Her grip on the bag of fritters tightened as her resolve wavered. Did she really want to get close to a man who was literally violence incarnate? Violence wasn't her forte; neither did she support it- ever. Hell, she didn't even like watching violent movies.

And yet she foolishly made a silly resolve to befriend Shizuo, to get to know him. She had already thanked him for his help, so it wasn't necessary for her to do this. She had no obligation towards Tom either. And she didn't even like Hanejima Yuuhei, unlike the Orihara twins! If she wanted to, she could back out now and probably never see him again for the rest of her senior year at Raira.

Too late for that.

Shizuo spotted Kumiko from amongst the haze of his smoke. He would have raised a casual hand in greeting, but then he saw the trembling of her tiny hands with their grip so tight that her knuckles turned white; the wavering of her eyes and the hesitation, the fear that shimmered in them as they gazed upon the scene that he caused. And of course, Shizuo knew that she feared him.

Heck, he scared himself.

A mousey girl like her should have packed out of Ikebukuro already after getting into such close encounters with him.

And so Shizuo did not raise his hand.

He turned away instead; away from the first girl –well, person in general- in a long, long, long time that even attempted to get to know him, as short the attempt was.

Because he had that thought in mind, he could not get angry at her; that she at least tried even when being so afraid, and he appreciated blunt courage when he saw it.

Even when living in a city as crowded as this, Shizuo was pretty much a lone island.

Stay away from people and they will not get hurt. Stay away from people and you will not get hurt.

Hedgehog's dilemma in all its glory, and Shizuo mentally jeered at it.

Kumiko on the other hand, saw the visage- the visage of a lone man shunned – as Shizuo walked through the crowd that parted for him. No matter how crowded the streets got, it seems that people were still able to meld themselves together to get as far away as possible from the man whose hair reminded Kumiko of the sun.

It was dyed and by all rights should look much like gold- gold the element, the jewelry that people prized. Yet no one prized Shizuo, except perhaps Tom, and his brother Kasuka, most likely. Kumiko hoped for his sake that Kasuka did.

Yet, for reasons unknown to her, his hair reminded her of the burning sun that gave and took life.

Apprehension remained in her widened eyes, as Shizuo walked further away. He did not greet her even as they made eye contact. It was as if he knew what she was feeling; he probably did know. Her face was an open book. And Kumiko figured Shizuo chose not to approach her at all despite recognition having flickered in his eyes.

A sacrifice, on his part.

Calm entered her as the distance increased, as did….what was that? That feeling….she didn't like it.

As he walked further away, the feeling grew stronger. Whatever it was, she had a feeling that it would forever haunt her, if she didn't do anything- if she stayed in place once more, suspended between two sides of every war.

Hand trembling further as the conflict raged within her, Kumiko bit down on her lip.

If Shizuo was willing to sacrifice something for her, the least she can do was return the favour, right?

Manners dictated that no favour be unreturned. Curse or bless her mother for that, she did not know.

Shizuo paused in his tracks, a tick growing on his forehead as he looked down at the person who dared to even lay a hand on him.

But he paused in confusion, face remaining a blank slate as bambi brown eyes stared up at him.

Time seemed to stop for Kumiko.

_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit-! Well, shit, that was shit fuck stupid-!_

Her mind whirred for words, having not thought things through properly. Her legs had just moved of their own accord, and her hands had reached out for the cuff of Shizuo's shirt without her consent.

Shizuo looking down at her as if she was an idiot didn't really help either, even though she agreed with the thought that at the moment she was the world's biggest Asswipe. With a capital 'A,' please.

As garbled rubbish streamed from her mouth over the next 3 seconds, sense finally had enough sense to brick her over the head, reminding her that there was still a bag in her hand that felt totally ignored.

Quickly releasing him, she shuffled back a step. Shizuo immediately felt a sense of loss at the lack of contact; a contact that was not violent or meant to deal pain that he had not felt for a while.

Kumiko thrust her hand out, bag swinging back and forth madly in them. Shizuo would have flinched at how close the nervous hands had stopped from him, nearly hitting his chest; but this was Heiwajima Shizuo, and pain itself did not scare him, needless to say the thought of pain. And any assault from her would have been like the flapping of bird wings in any case.

"I-I m-made this f-for y-you!" Ah, fuck. She was stuttering more than usual. And fuck this again! Why did she say that she made it for him? That was amazingly stupid. She sounded like some shoujo manga heroine, the ones that are totally **not** awesome. She should have said she just made it and happened to have extra….even if it was a total lie.

And with the stuttering, it sounded as if she had a girly schoolgirl crush on him.

Brow raised in confusion, Shizuo hesitantly lifted a hand to take the bag. His fingers brushed against hers by accident, and he saw them tighten even more as her body jumped slightly. Kumiko kept her head down and away from the man, a red trail crossing the bridge of her nose and cheeks.

"You…made it for me?" Disbelief and astonishment was evident in his voice, although his face remained near neutral. Kumiko chanced a peek up from under her long bangs, nodding silently.

Shizuo was looking down at her, face neutral as she had suspected. But there was a subtle difference to it this time.

She couldn't really pinpoint it but…it felt….softer?

Now that she thought about it, Shizuo had this really gentle slant to his nose, unlike many people she knew who either had this really sharp bridge to them or a superbly round curve.

_What the-? Why am I thinking about his nose now, of all times? And his bloody nose, of all things! ...He would kill me if he heard that thought._

She berated herself heavily in her head.

"Why?"

The question was blunt and simple, yet Kumiko found extreme difficulty in answering it. She settled for the first thing that came into her mind, which was probably the answer closest to being from the bottom of her heart.

"Because you s-said you liked sweet f-food."

Yes, she made it because she wanted to repay Shizuo. Yes, she made it for him because she wanted to somehow escape from the normalcy and attain a better understanding of this dangerous yet nice man. But yes, he did say he liked sweet foods and friends took care of one another. If a friend liked chocolate, you gave them chocolate without much thought (and then eat all of it in their place later).

Shizuo was stunned, unable to find anything to respond. When was the last time anyone did anything for him without strings attached? He honestly could not remember.

But what he could not express by words he easily expressed by action, for he is a man of action after all. He finally allowed his hand that had retracted just short of hers to take hold of the bag.

_Thank you._

The exchange of that simple bag containing Okinawan sweet fritters between the two hands will mark the beginning of a long and arduous relationship that was far from simple and sweet.

Kumiko brought her hand back to her, rolling on the balls of her feet nervously as Shizuo raised the bag and eyed it. He could faintly smell a sweet scent wafting from the plastic bag. Looking back at the girl who was rocking back and forth on her feet- the action irked him a little; why couldn't people stand still?- he mustered up a small smile. His lips felt like lead, since he was always frowning. The closest he ever got to a smile as of late was a smirk, which he doubted could even pass as a smile.

"I…h-hope you'll like it…"

Shizuo nodded again, not really knowing what to say. What did one say to a girl who just gave you food she made? Well, people would usually say 'thank you,' but he missed his chance to say that, and it would seem awkward to say it now. Oh, to hell with it. He can say what he damned well wanted to.

"Ah. Thanks."

Silence.

Kumiko bit her lip. Ooooo-kay….this wasn't really how she had imagined it to play out. There was too much silence and nervous tension. What was she supposed to do now? She just randomly gave him a bag of goodies, which he took, and he said his thanks…so….she left now, she guessed?

But she didn't really want to leave.

For a moment, even if it was short-lived, she felt a sort of connection with Shizuo as the bag went from her hand to his. There was this ball of happiness that floated within her as the exchange occurred, and it took all her willpower to not smile like a total nut. It was similar to the feeling you got when you pluck a nice little flower and give it to the lady next door, or stand up to hand your seat over to an old man when the city bus was full.

It was that sort of happiness that came after helping someone-it felt the same way, but it wasn't because she helped Shizuo. She didn't do anything for him- in fact, all the saving had been done by him. Nonetheless, that feeling was what she felt; like floating on air.

What occurred next was something which to this day, Kumiko still didn't know if she wanted to occur or not. It did save her from the thick silence between them, which did not bother Shizuo one bit, though she felt thoroughly awkward. But it also got her way, way too close to danger once again, something she hadn't decided if it was a good thing or not.

An arm, which she familiarized herself with quite often lately, slid across her shoulders and short strands of hair tickled her cheek as the even more familiar chuckle of Izaya reverberated in her ear.

_Oh hot damn_.

Instantly she tensed, not because Izaya was there, but because rage took over Shizuo's entire countenance so quickly and so completely that she could hardly comprehend it. What was it that happened between the two of them that caused Shizuo to hold so much contempt for Izaya? How could two people hate each other so…so deeply?

When Izaya spoke, mirth continued to lace his voice, venom veiled over it as well, and Kumiko shivered at his tone. An angry Shizuo was one thing due to this unpredictable nature, but Izaya is another matter completely. It was hard (impossible) to guess his thoughts and plans. For Shizuo, a wild guess could be taken that he would pummel Izaya into the ground in pure white rage- maybe or maybe not taking into account any hostages Izaya had; hence the unpredictable part of Shizuo is covered- but Izaya….who knew what he was up to.

Izaya's eyes flickered to the bag in Shizuo's hands and smirked further. "Ne, babysitter-chan, where's my share?"

Kumiko stiffened, nervous laughter escaping her. "I…d-didn't make you a-any…F-Flea-san…" A pause. "I m-mean, O-Orihara-san." For reasons unbeknownst to her, she suddenly thought of the nickname Shizuo taught her. And unwittingly, she had said it instead of the Orihara family name.

'Flea-san's' eyebrow rose in slight surprise before a condescending smile crept across his lips. "Flea-san? I see Shizu-chan is rubbing off on you. That isn't good at all, considering Shizu-chan's barbaric nature."

A loud creak was heard as the railing Shizuo had in his grip bent underneath his palms. "Ishimaru, you know this bastard?" His voice terrified her with its ferocity and roiling hate. He knew of the brief encounter Kumiko had with Izaya, as he was right at the scene when it happened nights ago. But the way they spoke just now suggested they knew each other to a degree. The sweet smelling fritters didn't seem so nice a gesture anymore, since Izaya might have put her up to it.

But before Kumiko could respond to Shizuo, Izaya took it upon himself to answer for her instead. "Ara, Shizu-chan, did you already forget that she babysits my sisters? You'd think that being their big brother she would of course be acquainted with me." A deaf man could hear the contempt in Izaya's reply. And during the duration of his response, Kumiko shook her head fervently, denying ever knowing him at all.

M-maybe a little….but it wasn't like she sought him out or anything! That man freaking stalked her!

When anything involved Izaya, Shizuo would without a doubt trust ANYONE but Izaya. So it was without a doubt too that he believed Kumiko instantly as he watched her head swing in frantic denial.

True or not, it really didn't matter. Izaya would die either way.

As the railing rose in the air, the people in the area scattered like ants when their colony was stomped on.

"Oi,oi…Is he serious?" Izaya muttered lowly as they watched the gleaming metal shine under the billboard lights and its screws raining down on the asphalt.

"Y-you p-provoked h-him…" Kumiko stuttered madly, unconsciously stepping back into Izaya.

"I resent that, babysitter-chan. I merely spoke to him in a cordial manner, but Shizu-chan lacks the ability to control himself." He shook his head in mock dismay before grabbing Kumiko and holding his blade up to her neck.

Shizuo froze. And so did Kumiko.

Izaya found it mildly interesting how Shizuo did not hesitate before in his mad charge towards them with the railing, but stopped completely when Izaya is the one holding Kumiko at threat. How annoying his unpredictability was. He would have to further investigate this behavior. Perhaps Shizu-chan is a yandere?

"Izaya, you coward! Let her go!" The ominous metal withered like paper in Shizuo's hands and Kumiko could not decide whether it was more painful to die by Shizuo's hands or Izaya's hands.

Both looked equally painful.

Crushed to death or sliced to death- ha! Never would she have imagined that she would have such thoughts.

Izaya 'tsk'ed and shook his head again, as if lecturing a bad child. "Shizu-chan was the one who was about to pummel us with that primitive weapon."

Kumiko really thought that Shizuo would throw the railing at them, what with the absolutely livid look on Shizuo's face.

Shizuo on the other hand, always knew he would feel pure ecstasy on the day he nailed Izaya and sent him to his grave. And he took any chance that he could to reach that day. And right now, he wanted nothing more than to mark the flea's grave here on this very street, and yet, he was hesitating because of one girl!

Most of the time he did not take notice of the people around him during his rampages, because he kinda took it for granted that they would run away when they saw him anyway. But Kumiko…

Kumiko never ran away when she saw him.

Gritting his teeth, the anger churned madly within him as he watched Izaya take in his indecision with glee.

Freaking Satan incarnate!

The blade was abruptly retracted from Kumiko's throat at the same time she was pushed forward without much regard. Her face would have kissed the ground had Shizuo not stopped her body in time, one arm catching her across the front with no effort.

Izaya took one last jab before fleeing the scene; it was the reason he even made his presence known to the two of them anyways.

To let Shizuo know of where the recipe she used came from.

"I hope you enjoy the fritters recipe she got from me~!" And he flitted round a corner so quickly, Shizuo did not even have time to pick up another weapon to give chase.

But it wasn't like the thought of giving chase even crossed his mind. What Izaya said had shocked him, and he looked down at the girl with a frown, forehead pulsing with a tick.

Was she one of Izaya's pawns?

The idea that she angered him, and caused a sort of melancholy in him. That would mean all her words and actions were an act.

Kumiko paled further at the look Shizuo casted her and looked away guiltily. Why did she even feel guilty anyways? Was it because of that momentary hurt she saw in his depthless eyes, veiled by the shades that hid his feelings from the world?

Up so close, it wasn't hard to detect distrust and betrayal in Shizuo's façade.

"He…bought me the recipe book." Her voice came out soft. The emptied street allowed Shizuo to hear it clearly however. "I was looking for something to make for you, and Orihara-san caught me sneaking notes of the recipe at the store."

When Shizuo removed his arm from her, panic filled Kumiko as she thought that Shizuo did not believe her or that she was in cohorts with Izaya or something. "I didn't know you guys were on such bad terms with one another!" she cried, explaining hurriedly. She should have gotten an idea already from the night when she was caught in the crossfire between them. Yet stupid her did not and still took a recipe book from Orihara Izaya and made something from it for Shizuo!

Fisting her hands, she looked down and very much wanted to stomp her foot into the ground. What was with all the emotions she was feeling? Why was she so fearful of losing Shizuo's trust in her, as little as it was? Why did the thought of Shizuo hating her scared her? She hardly knew the man! But it did, and that was probably what frightened her most.

That she was feeling this strongly about someone she just met; about someone considered one of the most dangerous people in the city.

About Heiwajima Shizuo.

But when a gentle hand landed itself across the top of her head, all her fears and confusion were dispelled as she looked up. Shizuo stared blankly at her before scoffing and looking away with what seemed to be a light pink tint to his skin.

"Don't worry about it."

Her eyes riveted back down. "But…"

"You didn't know. So it's fine," Shizuo huffed. He could never hold it against a girl who tried to show him kindness, even if she unwittingly used something related to that lout. Besides, that was not what mattered. What mattered was that-

"You actually wanted to make the sweets for me. And that's what counts. Lout or no lout."

Shizuo felt thoroughly embarrassed and ridiculous once the words left his mouth. That was so cheesy. He's been watching too much of Kasuka's romance movies. But that was how he felt, and he could not have put it any other way.

He removed his hand and glanced to the side, where a bag lay in a sorry state on the ground.

Shizuo mentally winced. He must have dropped the bag during his rage and trampled over it.

Kumiko followed his line of sight and saw the bag too. Her heart sunk, not because the fritters were ruined, but because Shizuo never got to try it.

But that means…..

"I'll make you some more~" She said with a slight cough and laugh.

Shizuo rubbed the back of his head in remorse. "Sorry."

She had another reason to see Shizuo again.

Neither even noticed the lack of a stutter in their entire conversation.

Izaya drummed his fingers across his cheek as he typed a message into his phone.

Dealing with Shizuo really pissed him off and killed his mood. Adding the babysitter in it really made things a bit more bearable and fun; especially because of the reactions he was getting from her towards Shizuo. Better yet, he was getting reactions from Shizuo that he never expected.

Ironically, that was why he hated that man in the first place- how he was so unpredictable.

Yet today was another event, inspired by him obviously- even if it was a bit different from what he imagined- that greater helped his plans of driving the two individuals together.

Another piece was moved on the board established solely for the two.

Izaya smiled and could not wait for the climax to arrive.

He clicked the '_send'_ button on his phone.

Kumiko blinked and sat up in surprise when she got a message from an unknown ID on her phone. She closed the new recipe book which she just got, handpicked and paid for by Shizuo himself this time, and gave her attention to her cell.

It was rare that she received any messages or calls. She flipped her cell open and clicked.

At the first sentence, Kumiko's eyes bulged and she took in a sharp intake of breath, phone dropping from her hands and tumbling to the floor.

D-Dollars?

It was that colorless gang rumored to be super dangerous, wasn't it?

W-why was a message from them being sent to her?

Quickly, she scrambled after her phone and lifted it with trembling hands- excitement.

_Do you want to join the Dollars? There are no restrictions or rules. All you have to do is say you're part of the Dollars._

To join the Dollars…the colorless 'colored' gang. Rumors about them were as abundant as there was air.

The Dollars are this, the Dollars are that, the Dollars are there, the Dollars are here….

**The Dollars are dangerous.**

A feeling very much like the one she felt around Izaya took hold of Kumiko, and she breathed harshly.

excitement.

Taking one long breath, Kumiko let it out along with a slow smile.

Excitement.

Danger.

Who the fuck gave a shit about consequences right now?

She had been invited to join Dollars. Simple, plain, boring, **normal** her had been invited to join one of the supposedly most notorious gang ever.

Who would even think twice about joining?

_I am part of the Dollars._

Seconds which seemed like hours passed, during which Kumiko stared at her screen relentlessly- waiting, anticipating, expecting.

The first beep of her ringtone did not even get a chance to sing out its full note. Kumiko instantly clicked open and the message could not be displayed fast enough.

What she found in the message was a link. And…

_Password: Baccano_

**IMPORTANT: suggestions needed for a handle name for Kumiko that will be used for her as a Dollar member =D please give me your suggestions~ the faster I can find a cool one that suits Kumiko's character, the better (and most likely faster the next chapter will come); as I do not have to spend time thinking of one on my own XD**

**Sorry for the slowness of this one. Things suddenly picked up in school and all my internal assessments for IB were suddenly due- I had no time at all to do anything other than work, work,work,work. I tried to make this chapter a bit longer to make up for that but it didnt really work all too well...it refused to cooperate with me. I wonder if its because my creative juices are being drained by school sigh *goes back to writing English and business internal assessments.***

**By the way, I will close the poll in another 2-5 chapters. The results were quite close together at first but that has changed. And it doesn't seem like it will be all too easy for either to catch up to one another so I do not see much of a point any longer to keep the poll up. So if you have yet to vote, please go do so soon and hope for the man you wish to win XD**

**And if you see any mistakes in here, spelling errors, word blanks (FF just loves to erase my words sometimes), please do tell me and I will edit. I do not have time to beta on my own, and my beta all disappeared again OTL is it me or is it my writing? T_T**

**And reviews please~? I really need them to boost me out of my murk x.x I seem to have a review average of 5 per chapter only D8 most I ever got is 10, and second highest is 7 XD what do I need to do for you guys to make it an average of 7 reviews consistently? XD An intense make-out session in the story? A design page of Kumiko? KIDNAPPING BY IZAYA? -shot-**

**Regardless, please do review~ I really, really love them and would appreciate them and send you mental hugs and kisses 8D (Many authors I see seem to be doing a kiriban thing where the 100th reviewer or something would get a oneshot and stuffs haha) I may do that when this story is popular enough...btw, a Shizuo one-shot is on the way =D expect a bit of crack and wtfness XD**


	10. Angelic White Lies

_~Fairyride~_

"_They are playful beings that love creation."_

"_And destruction."_

* * *

_Shin Senjyo: I think that is a good idea. You should try it. I have to go now though. Bye!_

Kumiko logged off the Dollars forum as soon as her message post was sent and pocketed her phone once she neared Raira Academy. An hour after receiving the password from the unknown ID, she had seen her handle name listed as a Dollars member at the website.

Mere hours after joining Dollars and logging into their site, she had learned many things about them- many facts that countered the rumors that flew around. She actually laughed out at the irony that the rumors she so feared was very false, and had been mainly started by fake-Dollars. Many of the members were quite nice and were quite, amazingly enough, normal people.

_I wonder if there are any Dollars members at school…_

That was a thought she had often lately. It would have been nice to know another personally, but it didn't seem to be something the Dollars members did.

There was still so much about them she could learn, and already so much that she had learned. They are a fascinating group.

Kumiko was able to express herself freely on the boards, and various people responded to her posts. She was able to chat and socialize with them! On the forums, she did not feel like such a stranger or outsider. If only she could just as easily communicate with people in reality as she did virtually.

She could only hope that with time, she would improve in that department, especially because she was now interacting with some of the most infamous people in Ikebukuro on a regular basis. Since the fritters incident, she had been talking to Shizuo often.

Whenever the opportunity came up, she would make some sort of confectionery for Shizuo in her home economics class. The class often altered between cooking, sewing and other such girly activities but there was usually at least one class dedicated to cooking per week. Of course, she didn't forget about Tom or the Orihara twins and always made sure their share was included. Her teacher had been suspicious at first as to why she was making such large quantities, but brushed it off overtime. After all, what kind of harm could a turtle like her do?

Kumiko also soon found out that Shizuo and Celty were pretty good friends with one another, and as a result, she had begun to…'talk' (funny)….with the famed headless rider herself. Celty wasn't as scary as rumors made her out to be either.

Rumors were something she really should stop listening to as what she heard of Shizuo, Celty and Dollars through them were all wrong.

Perhaps what they said of Orihara Izaya was the same? Maybe Izaya wasn't as dangerous as they say and he actually had a kind, fluffy heart? ...That was a food for thought.

Seeing her three freshmen friends approaching the school gates as well, Kumiko walked over to them and gave a small wave. "Good m-morning!"

Mikado and Anri both blinked at Kumiko, still unused to the sudden change in her demeanor. They had noticed a change in Kumiko, subtle as it was. But to them who conversed with her more than the other students, they took note of what the rest of the student body did not. Like how she actually takes the initiative to greet them now where before they were the ones who had to go up to her everyday and say hi.

_She sure is more cheerful lately…_ Mikado thought with a smile. He didn't find it a bad thing at all. He quite liked his senpai being this way than when she was all quiet; it was a bit discomforting. There was already a quiet one in their little group in anyway. He casted a quick glance over to Anri only to have pink dust his cheeks.

"Kumiko-senpai~! I can tell today will be a good day today just by seeing how brilliant your smile is~"

Mikado sighed, wondering why his friend could not resist flirting with everything that was remotely female.

Kumiko smiled lightly before a yawn escaped her. She held her hand up to cover her mouth as she let out a long one, bits of water pricking at her eyes.

"Didn't you sleep well last night, senpai?" Mikado asked curiously. She seemed to have bags under her eyes too.

"I stayed up a b-bit late, that's all." That was something she's been doing a lot since joining Dollars. The forums were so addictive. One person she chatted with often and exchanged messages with was someone going by the handle Nakura.

She knew better than to trust people based on their internet persona, but Nakura seemed like a good fellow. She would love to meet and talk with him one day. There was also a person going by the name Master Gods- who knows how he came up with that- and he taught her a lot about the English language on the forums. Studying in America one day in the creative arts industry was something she dreamed of often, and Master Gods was a big help to this end; she couldn't go there whilst illiterate in English.

Waving goodbye to the freshmen trio, Kumiko headed to her class. She had home economics today, and she hoped that they were doing cooking once more. It gave her reason to see Shizuo….She did not think Shizuo would mind if she just approached him casually as a friend, but there was a part of her that felt insecure; going to him without a reason gave her this insecurity.

It was unlike anything she felt before. Usually she felt awkward and strange around people, but she never really bothered about it because that was how she was. But with Shizuo, it was different. It was this insecurity where she felt Shizuo thought her boring and did not want her there- that's why she always made sure to have a reason, and bringing him baked goods was a reason she easily clung onto.

Shizuo was so, so different from anyone she'd ever met; not including Orihara Izaya and the twins. They were another matter entirely. And she was sure now, more than ever, that she wanted to know this man better; it wasn't just a silly promise she made herself any longer. This weird attachment she felt towards him- she wanted to explore it, understand it.

She didn't have to babysit today, but dropped off some mini butter cakes at the Orihara household for the twins anyway. She actually added two extras for Izaya but did not mention anything about it as she passed the box over to Orihara-mama. He probably never visited his home anyway.

And why she added the extra two for him, she didn't know either. She just had this guilty sort of jab in her gut when she didn't.

Flipping her cell phone open, Kumiko hesitated several moments before mustering the courage to type up a message to Shizuo. She had done it several times before now, but the nervousness still creeps up. It was like having to do a performance- no matter how many times you performed, you still get this jittery and clammy feeling in your hands before it began.

_To Shizuo:_

'_I made some mini butter cakes for you~ (^-^); where should I bring it?'_

The girl bit her lips anxiously as she walked at a slow gait. It was a while before the response came; her phone rang with a Kagrra ringtone.

_From Shizuo:_

_Marui department store-Ikebukuro station. Thanks._

Short and to the point. It was very much Shizuo.

Pocketing her phone, Kumiko began making her way to the station; she was familiar with that particular department store as she sometimes bought her clothes from there- mainly long stockings and tights to match her shorts. It was very trendy nowadays, and she quite liked the look. But it was pointless as she hardly ever went or hung out, so she had no need to dress fashionably…

"Ya, babysitter-chan~"

Kumiko choked on nothing from the sudden voice, head whipping to the side to see Izaya in all of his glory; he wore his usual clothes with one hand tucked in his hood pocket (she hoped he wasn't fingering that blade of his). In one hand he held a package of…something.

Izaya noticed her gaze and smiled/smirked-whatever-and lifted it up.

"It's fatty tuna~ want some?" he asked with a grin.

How old was this guy again? He seemed pretty young, and he's spending cash on fatty tuna? Luxury is but a mere impression to Kumiko. Regardless, before she could reply with a skeptical "Really?" Izaya busted her to it.

"Not that I would give any to you though~" And he laughed.

Kumiko's brows furrowed with a pout. Promptly she turned away from him and began walking again. She was hopeful there for a second; this really annoyed her as she got roped in so easily. She was too gullible for her own good sometimes. But man, fatty tuna….when was the last time she had some good sushi?

Shizuo wouldn't play a mean trick like that. He was honest and direct. From his recent display, Izaya obviously liked to pull jokes on people.

Resisting a sigh, Kumiko casted a curious glance at the man who had started following her with a hop to his steps. He was like a child sometimes.

….he reminded her of his sisters….

"Orihara-san, w-why are you following me?"

"Hmm?" His face alighted with an interest of some sort. "Did you fix your speaking problem? If so, that saves me a lot of trouble as it is very hard to listen to you when you speak like that."

…...

...

...

She knew she had speech problems but did he have to be so blunt about it AND say it all with a smile?

Fleetingly, she recalled the time Shizuo asked if she had speech problems as well, back when she took the twins out on a Hanejima shopping trip. Was…her speaking problem really **that** bad?

Red burned her cheeks and Kumiko bit down harder on her lower lip. She was too mortified and embarrassed to even look up at Izaya. "I-I can't h-help i-it!"

"Cheee…it hasn't healed even a bit." Izaya leaned back with something akin to a condescending smile.

Tucking her head further in, Kumiko walked faster with her head down. Izaya only continued skipping after her. Amber eyes trailed down to her hand by her schoolbag.

"More baked treats for Shizu-chan~?" There was derision hidden in his words.

She nodded mutely. Under her breath, she muttered out, "I left some for you with your sisters…"

Izaya laughed merrily and Kumiko could not decide whether she liked or hated his laugh. Where Shizuo's was booming and fully of vitality, Izaya's was….a plethora of contradictions. It was merry and light, with a hint of danger.

"They probably already ate all of it. I haven't stepped into that house for ages, to be honest." His chuckles tapered off with his words.

"You…haven't?" She looked up at him now. She always imagined that he never visited his home, but never thought that he actually never did. It was hard for her to imagine what it was like, to not be in contact with her parents. She was an only child, and her parents are the people dearest to her- she made sure to call them every alternative day, to save a bit on phone bills.

Izaya merely looked away with a smirk, not bothering to answer her. As he turned his head to the right, his left arm reached out as well and steered Kumiko away from her path with a firm clasp on her shoulder.

"W-what a-re you-?"

Kumiko stumbled along after him, and she wondered just why the fuck she hadn't blown up at this man yet and his…his…callous ways! Damn, she couldn't come up with a good adjective for him; proof of his complexity.

From stalking her to putting a knife at her throat, Kumiko had all rights to sue and completely detest the man; she should. Vainly, she pondered over how other people would have already and she questioned her sanity- as she hadn't, did that mean there was something wrong with her? She had social problems, sure…but she was totally sane by psychology standards!

Right now, she should scream for help and run away from wherever Izaya was leading her. But like a sheep following after its herder, she quietly walked after him without shrugging off the grip on her shoulder.

She was neither angry nor hateful of him. Yet she wasn't happy or grateful towards him for anything either- unlike Shizuo who gave her enough reason to shower the road he walked with sprinkles.

Izaya found it odd and mildly fascinating, the way the girl worked. She displayed obvious fear around him and also excitement. Most of all, he had expected her to have reported him to the police by now or do something against him. She did none of the things people normally would have done.

A suspicious and wary glance was casted at him, but that was it. She accepted the control he placed over her as if he was just asking her about the weather.

It was apathetic, almost.

Almost because Izaya knew she was far from apathy- he knew emotions whirled within her right now; mainly confusion. He could see it in her eyes. They glimmered with a hidden war known only to herself. Yet like stoic sentinels they stared ahead, blank and dull to the environment.

Behind that socially awkward schoolgirl façade, she was a doll that had the wills of the heavens but lacked the strength of the earth to act upon those wills.

He turned and hid a malicious grin.

It was almost like having Shizu-chan in his grip right now. That annoying unpredictability permeated her.

The only difference was that she lacked power and strength.

If Shizu-chan was action, then she was the mere flutter of words that left no impression.

And it had been a long time since Izaya came across someone of her caliber- someone that did not bore him with their predictability and yet remained docile enough for him to control, unlike the barbaric rage that ran rampant.

"O-Orihara-san….I was going see s-someone." Izaya knew who that person is. It was easy to guess.

Vainly she tried maneuver out of his hold, but she hardly placed any effort into it.

Izaya knew she was curious- she wanted to follow him. But she also wanted to leave and see the protozoa.

Izaya laughed and turned her down another street.

She may be contradictory and thus unpredictable, but she was not immune to his influence.

"It won't take long. Shizu-chan can wait." Surprise flashed through her eyes at him knowing that she was to rendezvous with Shizuo.

"I just wanted to talk to you a bit. Here, I'll even treat you to some fatty tuna, for real this time~"

The soils were tilled.

* * *

'_Won't take long my stinking foot!'_

Kumiko cursed as she weaved through the crowded station to the other side, making a break for the department store. It had been two hours since the time she was to meet with Shizuo.

Izaya had in all honesty treated her to fatty tuna and more. She initially thought he was lying until he took her to a sushi restaurant.

Why, she didn't really know. But she wouldn't turn down the offer of good sushi, considering how expensive they were nowadays.

But shit, he had kept her there with his talk- it was strangely addicting to listen to him. He had a powerful way with words and he talked about many things with her. One particular topic was the main root of why she forgot the time with him: Dollars.

He had so much to tell about them. In fact, he had so much to tell and give about everything- he was an information broker for hell's sake.

Never once did she question of the validity of his words; they sounded solid and real, and she accepted them all as truth.

But fuck again, she was late. Epically late.

As she slowed her run to a serene gait, Kumiko gnawed the inside of her mouth in anxiety and worry.

However, the worry and anxiety fled when she spotted a head of bright gold and they were instead replaced with guilt.

She had believed that Shizuo would have left already. Yet there he was.

Kumiko could easily see the impatience, the annoyance, and the anger roiling in his eyes. It was no surprise; he waited for two fucking hours.

Shizuo was sorely tempted to leave, but something kept him there for the two whole hours.

Excuses were made on their own accord in his head as to why she was late for two god forsaken hours.

He could not help the rise in his temper, and consequently a broken lamp post that lay broken beside him. He still waited.

For two goddamn hours.

Just what was it that kept that girl? Better yet, why the hell did he wait anyway?

The red storm passed to a mild thunder, tapering off into nothing as he caught her from the corner of his eyes. The guilt was sorely imprinted all over her figure; from her eyes to her mouth and to her cocooned arms.

Shizuo's eyes twitched with the remnants of his annoyance as she came to a stop several feet away from him, the bag of what he supposed is the butter cakes in her hand.

Why did he wait that long?

The question passed through both of their minds simultaneously, unknowingly.

Shizuo was damn sure it was not because of her confectionery; he tasted better from established bakery stores.

So what was it?

Is it because if he left and she- if she- arrived to find him nowhere in sight, he felt that her brown eyes would darken with sadness? Maybe he didn't want to lose a friend so quickly? Was he even that close of a friend to her to warrant such long hours from him? Perhaps in some quiet part of his mind, he unconsciously suffers from loneliness and wanted more people to reach out to, beyond Kasuka, Tom, Shinra and Celty.

Or maybe it was just because of her confectioneries after all?

Shizuo did not really know.

He couldn't think long into these things as they were so hard to foreshadow. Which was why he didn't really think onto why he stayed there; he just did it.

"Sorry."

Kumiko mumbled, forlornly looking down and drawing circles with her right foot. She held up the bag for him to take.

"It's fine. Thanks."

He took it.

Kumiko could not find the courage in herself to admit that she had enjoyed a good time with Izaya and actually forgot about Shizuo till the last moment; when Izaya sipped at a cup of tea and said offhandedly she was missing an appointment.

"Did you…r-really wait all this t-time?" She squeaked, forcing herself to look up at him.

Shizuo glanced down at her and nodded. Her head dropped back down like a bag of bricks.

"S-sorry."

She was extremely guilty. But she could not deny that conversing with Izaya civilly was interesting. Which is why she could not look Shizuo in the eyes properly, because she knew of the extreme hate between them.

"What kept you?" He asked.

Kumiko faltered. It took her a split second to make up a lie; she did not even contemplate telling the truth.

"S-something came up w-with a friend. S-she asked for h-help and I f-forgot the time. Forgive me!" She bowed low.

Shizuo was taken aback a bit at this, as people passing by shot them weird looks.

"It's fine…" He waved a hand in front of her, indicating for her to straighten back up. Shizuo believed her because he did not think that this girl could lie- he never thought that she was capable of lying since she had always been so honest with him.

Kumiko focused her gaze on the area below and between his eyes. She could not look straight into them.

Somehow, she felt that she betrayed her friendship with Shizuo. Another part of her reasoned that she had no obligation towards him or Izaya, other than having made him wait. No, she was only at fault for forgetting the time and Shizuo. She had no obligation to tell him of her meeting with Izaya, his arch enemy.

None at all.

* * *

**Edit: My beta came back! =D this chapter and chapter 9 has been replaced with the beta'd versions now~ now you wont have to deal with my horrid grammar if you go through the chappies again ahahaha Shout out to MiAquaN for being my beta! She really saves my writing from being a stinking peach XD **

**Thanks a lot for the faves and alerts guys~ I am quite surprised at how fast this story garnered so many followers xD the faves/alerts number is nearly on par with my lame-ass-stuck-in-a-rut Fine Line story which was my most popular story yet (for reasons I cannot fathom; my writing skills are worst then than now). Now lets see if I can get the reviews rate and numbers up as well ahahaha –shot-**

**So like…I know the way Kumiko works and how others perceive her is confusing at times…and that is the point xD I created Kumiko with the notion in mind that humans are NEVER constant- they are always changing with the tiniest shifts in their environment.**

**Kumiko is built with many contradictory ideals that ranges from existentialist to the plain old girl-next-door concept. She is not meant to be that OC whom you know will always fight for herself or go try and save the poor kid being bullied even if she can't fight. Admit it, at times, even if we think we can do something, when it really comes down to it, we can't act either. And I feel that though we try not to sometimes, we cannot help but lie; for good or for bad.**

**It's hard for me to explain Kumiko a bit since the whole point of her is to be unexplainable despite her obvious simplicity xD I just hope I can try to get her character out to you guys over the course of the story. So…sorry! I know some readers were a bit miffed at Kumiko's characterization as it was confusing and did not follow a steady ground x.x But I don't want her to turn out predictable; like you know Gokudera would lose his temper easily at things or Kurama is a sweet man till the end lul (I have horrible comparisons, I know).**

**Feel free to ask questions about her if you have any~**

**PS: I have not answered reviews on here for a couple chapters. I was wondering if I should just respond to reviews privately or keep them here for others to see- opinions?**


	11. Nature's Call

_~Fairyride~_

_To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment ~Jane Austen_

* * *

Try as she might, Kumiko could not fully dig herself out of the pit: that she had no obligation towards Shizuo. Friends lied to each other all the time, right?

Everyone had their own set of secrets.

It did not weigh as heavily on her mind as the night she lied to him- it was rare that she ever lied blatantly. She could count the number of times she lied outright on one hand- her thoughts that countered with what she said did not count; those were labeled under speech problems.

But this kept picking at her heart, causing it to leap and bound in anxious frenzy through the week.

She tried to make herself feel better by upping the amount and number of times she baked him treats. It only made her feel worst, like she was vainly trying to bury a murdered man with as much dirt as possible, stuffing skeletons into an already full closet.

More likely than not, she was taking this way over the top but the feeling would not leave her- this annoying guilt that poked and prodded and twisted her emotions. If she randomly thought of the lie, her eyes would wince and her toes would curl along with her stomach.

"Ugh." Her head fell forward heavily onto the table in front of her.

Other senior students casted her weird looks. That did not seem too pleasant to do, hitting your head against the desk.

One girl, the class rep, walked up to her and leaned down hesitantly. "Are you okay, Ishimaru-san?"

Kumiko shot back up, and nodded. "I-I'm fine. J-Just a bit s-stressed, that's all."

The class rep smiled. "Is it because of the math test coming up? Don't stress too much about it, okay?" And with that, she walked off to join her group of friends.

Kumiko watched her go with a sigh. The subject teacher has not arrived yet and everyone was talking to their friends whilst she sat there alone with nothing but her thoughts.

Flipping open her notebook, Kumiko tried to dawdle the time away by doodling, all the while trying to convince herself that a lie was nothing major.

People did it all the time.

* * *

As the Orihara twins did their homework, Kumiko surfed through the Dollars forum aimlessly, looking for new topics, trends and people to talk to. Out of the corner of her eye, she occasionally saw one of the twins look up from their work to see what their babysitter was doing.

Kururi had stared for awhile but said nothing whilst Mairu openly casted a curious look at the way Kumiko had her eyes stuck to her phone screen.

She spoke up a moment later, eyes gleaming behind her glasses. "What are you doing?"

Kumiko jumped in her spot in surprise, but quickly settled back down. "N-nothing…Just surfing the net…"

"Hmmm~" Mairu seemed like she wanted to say more but turned back to her homework instead.

….Kumiko was thoroughly creeped out by how complacent the twins were today. They were usually harder to handle than this. Did something happen?

"Umm…A-Are you guys alright?" She asked cautiously, not wanting to suddenly incur the wrath of either of them.

Kururi shook her head and continued her work in silence whilst Mairu lolled her head side to side, tapping her pencil against her open book. "We saw Iza-nii the other day."

Kumiko nearly dropped her phone in shock.

"O-Orihara-san?" She squeaked.

Kururi finally looked up from her work. "…You know…our brother...?"

"Ah…N-Not too personally, no…" She muttered, bitterly recalling the times her throat was nearly slit open in his presence. Of course, that did not mean she had forgotten the rare event when he treated her to sushi.

"I thought that h-he doesn't come h-here?" And it was true. She thought that the man never visited his home, and he even said so himself once.

Mairu suddenly pouted and her pencil snapped in half. "He took the last two cakes!"

"E-Eh?"

Whirling around onto the babysitter huddled in her chair, Mairu pointed an indignant finger. "The butter cakes you made for us last time! Iza-nii ate the last two pieces!" The pencil halves crumbled to dust. Great, she would have to clean that up later.

"H-He did?"

The younger twin stomped her foot onto the soft plush of the bed. Seeing that Mairu was too angry to give any clarification, Kumiko turned to Kururi, although she already had an inkling of what happened. She just refused to believe it.

Because the Orihara Izaya eating the butter cakes she made? It was an unbelievable thought.

Indeed she had told Izaya that day, when he treated her to some amazing sushi, that she had left some extra pieces for him here at the Orihara household. But she did not expect him to come and get it.

She had only mentioned it out of courtesy and in passing.

Kumiko could not help the question that flowed past her lips. She was extremely curious.

"Did…D-Did he l-like it?" She asked, more quietly than usual.

Mairu flipped her hair over one shoulder and huffed. "It doesn't matter whether Iza-nii liked it or not!" Another pout before the girl slumped back onto the bed.

Kururi stopped in her work once more and looked over at their babysitter. "….He said that…it tasted a lot….like you…"

….

"Eh?"

The girl was honestly befuddled by Izaya's comments. Her fingers rubbed her forehead in mild frustration as she left the Orihara household that day. She wouldn't put it past the twins to lie to get people in trouble, but Kumiko just could not imagine Kururi lying to her.

That girl had such an innocent air about her…

Even if Kumiko knew better.

She jumped in slight surprise when she heard the distinctive roar of a motorbike nearby her. Looking up, she saw the famed Headless Rider herself slowly riding up towards her.

"O-Oh, hi, C-Celty-san." It was honestly weird talking to her. She might have come to terms with the fact that Celty was in fact headless, but that didn't make communicating with her any easier. Imagine trying to talk to person, when you know that person doesn't have a head, needless to say a mouth.

No matter how many times Kumiko had talked to Celty or will, she doubt she would ever fully be at ease.

[Are you alright?]

Kumiko's head tilted in confusion. "Y-Yeah…Why wouldn't I b-be?"

[I saw you looking quite down. Do you have a headache?]

She must be referring to all her head-rubbing. "O-Oh…That. It's…n-nothing. I was j-just thinking…" Kumiko squeaked, trailing off into a soft mutter.

Celty remained motionless, and Kumiko wondered what she was thinking. The dullahan suddenly pocketed her phone and gestured to the backseat of the motorbike.

"You…w-want me to get o-on?" Kumiko pointed a finger at herself in shock. Celty nodded in confirmation.

Kumiko hesitated, but steeled herself and nodded. Lately, she's been telling herself that if she wanted to experience what life had to offer. She had to stop being such a chicken when it came to… everything. And with that exact thought in mind, Kumiko slowly and clumsily climbed onto the motorbike, anxiety spiking in her when she felt its powerful vibration thrumming through her body.

Celty handed her a black helmet that wasn't there before. Cautiously, the girl put the helmet on, all the while wondering just where the hell it came from. But that was soon dispelled from her mind when all she could think about was her impending death.

"Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

She didn't think she could scream so high! And that was all she could do as she clung onto Celty who had suddenly revved the bike and drove off at an alarming speed.

Internally, Celty could not help but be shocked at Kumiko's reaction. She didn't expect her grip to be so tight- a rib might have been broken there- nor scream like that. She assumed she was a bit like Sonohara Anri, who hardly blinked an eye when she drove at this speed.

She slowed the bike and reached behind her to tap the girl on the helmet.

Feeling a small knock, Kumiko peeled her eyes open with much effort, to see that the bike was now not driving down Hell's highway but instead is driving along at a pace that was acceptable to governmental laws.

Feeling safe enough to finally lift her head, Kumiko screamed over the wind pitted at them. "W-Where are we g-goiieeeeeeekk!" Her head burrowed itself into Celty's back when the rider made a sharp turn unexpectedly.

Celty drove the two of them to a peaceful and quiet road, whose silence was only broken by the neighing sounds of the engine. It was a distance away from the town center, and also elevated; the road led up to a couple of high-end houses whose owners had enough money to purchase a lot of land that overlooked the city.

Celty stopped the bike and indicated for Kumiko to get off.

Doing as told, she removed her helmet and looked around curiously. This was a perfect time for a kidnap scenario to take place, but Kumiko trusted Celty, surprisingly.

For all her turtle-like habits, she trusted the most unlikely people.

"Why…d-did you bring me here?" Kumiko looked around, not seeing anything special about.

Celty walked up to the railing that protected little kids from falling to the roads below, typing as she went.

[I come here sometimes to think.] She flashed the screen out to the very much younger girl.

[It's really relaxing.]

As Kumiko read the last message, she placed a hand against the railing and tried to feel the relaxing effects of this place that Celty mentioned.

She took in a couple of deep breaths.

Soft wind caressed her skin and hair, and the sun was beginning to set, casting a cool ray upon them. Looking down at the road and line of houses below them, Kumiko did feel a calm of sort gracing her. The height wasn't so daunting as to cause vertigo, and yet it was high enough to create a feeling of being….free; on top of the world.

"It's r-really nice up here…" She said with a smile, breathing out.

Celty nodded and pointed out towards the horizon. The sun was beginning to hide itself beyond the grey buildings, and a passionate fire was painted across the sky.

Breathtaking.

When was the last time she saw a sunset in all its glory? Since coming here, she was so focused on her self-pity and her normalcy that she hardly took the time to actually enjoy things. Back in her hometown, she would go out after school ended and sit along the patches of rice fields and sketched. Or she would just aimlessly follow the neighborhood cat around on its patrol back when she was younger.

Any guilt about Shizuo fled her, and along with it her insecurities about Izaya. Right now, she actually wanted to laugh when she thought about how confused she was making herself.

Did it really matter whether Izaya made her panicked and excited at the same time? Did it matter if she wasn't angry at him despite all the death threats, or that despite knowing of their deep feud, she was still in contact with both Shizuo and Izaya?

The solution was all so simple but she had gone and blew it up into a big mess of chaos for her mind.

It took being up here, far away from the hectic city and being in an open space for her to come to the conclusion that she just needed to enjoy life a bit more, and take things as it came.

As an artist, it was in her nature to notice and appreciate things people take for granted or did not notice. But being in Ikebukuro, and being so fascinated by the glamorous city life and its people, she forgot all about the beauty that started her on the path as an artist. She had been too absorbed by Ikebukuro and its glam.

She forgot, in the midst of all the activity and inferiority, what it was to be free and inspired.

News of the city that she only watched from her hometown had enamored her with the possibilities and mysteries a concrete jungle offered. And she had asked to transfer to a school here in Tokyo, ending up in Ikebukuro.

Upon arriving, she was blown away by the mass amounts of people, cars, bicycles, lights, shops, clothes, colors, buildings, sounds and basically everything.

She was shy by nature, but the massive city with its explosive people left her completely alone; she could not fit in properly and thus retracted into imaginary walls.

Maybe that was when her mental cussing developed? She didn't remember cursing so much in her mind before she came here. The cussing was an outlet for her to express all the things she had repressed since moving.

She had also started drawing less since coming here, didn't she?

Kumiko placed her arm across the railing and leant her head against it, looking out at the setting sun forlornly.

"I moved here b-because I saw all these amazing things about the city life on tv and o-online." Kumiko explained. "I grew up in a s-small town…and I wanted to t-try something new. Something different, something not so s-small.

"B-but since coming here I-I think…." she trailed off, brows furrowing as she tried to sort out her thoughts. There were so many factors to take into account, so many variables that has changed and affected her.

It was hard to put her feelings into words.

She liked the city, but she could not find herself in here, not amongst a mass of people who overshadowed her with their uniqueness. She liked the country, but it was not big enough.

Maybe she was biting off more than she could chew.

A hand patted her shoulder lightly and Kumiko turned to look up at Celty.

The dullahan merely shook her head and stretched out. Kumiko blinked, and then smiled with resignation.

"Even Celty-san is telling me t-to let loose…" She laughed and stretched, mimicking Celty's movements.

Kumiko waited as she watched the dullahan type. [Whatever it is that is bothering you, don't let it get to you.]

She typed some more. [Shizuo was actually the one who showed me this place. He brought me here back when I was really troubled by certain things.]

To say Kumiko was surprised was an understatement. "S-Shizuo-san?" Shock clearly laced her voice.

Celty nodded. [Even a guy like him has troubles sometimes. But he never shows it.]

As Kumiko read, her lips casted down. Her thoughts went back to the night she lied...

Maybe she should tell him the truth.

But she doubt that she could. As much as she wanted to, she wasn't that courageous to just own up to a lie she willingly told. Hell, she never even told her mother that she was the one who took the wad of money from the coffee table as a kid….and treated her friends to a round of ice-cream.

"Celty-san…w-why are you being s-so nice to m-me?" Kumiko asked with a heavy blush on her face. She was curious.

Celty, if she had a head and thus a face, would most probably have an expression of surprise and embarrassment right now. The Headless Rider typed fervently.

[I don't have any weird intentions if that's what you're thinking! That's more of Shinra's alley!]

"I-I never-" She never got to finish as the phone was thrust back into her face.

[I just saw that you were down, and wanted to help you. That's what friends are for, right?] With an indignant flourish, the phone retracted back into her sleeves.

A nervous yet grateful smile tugged at Kumiko's lips. "S-Sorry if I offended you. I didn't m-mean it. It's just…I guess I'm not t-too used to people actually acknowledging me m-much. Especially p-people I just met, like you." She scratched at the back of her head and bowed in apology.

Celty waved a hand airily and looked back out at the sun that had nearly disappeared below the horizon. [Don't worry. Just know that if you ever need help, you can call me.]

As Kumiko read those words, she could not help but stare in awe. A light dust of pink rested across her cheeks and Celty momentarily freaked that she was coming down with a fever.

When Kumiko returned home that night, she could not help but laugh at herself; giggles pealed across the otherwise silent room. She acted like such a schoolgirl. And Celty wasn't even a guy!

But at that time, Kumiko just absolutely could not believe that this otherworldly being could be so thoughtful to her, a simple and quite normal person.

Celty was so, so special; beyond being a dullahan. To have someone like her saying they cared and would be there whenever she needed help, it was just….Kumiko couldn't describe her feelings.

And for that one moment, Kumiko felt she wasn't so normal or boring anymore.

How many people could say that they had a dullahan for a friend? How many can say that they encountered both Heiwajima Shizuo and Orihara Izaya and survived without a scratch? How many can say that Heiwajima Shizuo and Orihara Izaya themselves ate her cooking?

A grin split across her face at the answer she very well knew.

She sounded selfish, like she was merely using these special people as a means of escape. It did sound and feel that way.

And Kumiko had to admit that perhaps she was being selfish in that sense.

But for once, she would like to be selfish; because it attained her something that even her art cannot bring her.

Reality.

Her art allowed her to reach places she could never be, but the reality of it was much, much better.

Celty on the other hand, had watched Kumiko walk up the steps to her small home with a light step to her movements. Her head tilted to one side in wonder and curiosity. The girl had been slumped over and slouching when she found her today, trudging along the grey walkways. And now she moved like a child on Christmas morning.

As she drove off, the dullahan thought that the girl was a weird one. Weird, but nice.

Not that she was one to talk.

* * *

It was on a Friday, after her babysitting job of the Orihara twins that Kumiko found herself having a slow-moving chat with Shizuo, having delivered to him yet another bag of cookies. They had home economics class today yet again, and the teacher thought it would be nice for the students to make cookies for the weekend.

They didn't really have much to say to each other. Or rather, it was more that Shizuo wasn't much of a talkative man and Kumiko was a social alien.

Shizuo didn't seem to mind the silence if it came between them, and he didn't seem to mind either if she tried to make conversation so long as she didn't beat around the bush. That was something she quickly picked up on; fear was a great incentive to learn quickly.

It was when Kumiko was tilting back and forth awkwardly on the soles of her shoes that Shizuo got a phone call.

"What do you want, Shinra?" The man grunted into the phone.

Kumiko couldn't hear what Shinra was saying over the din of the street, though Shizuo's facial expression turned more confused and incredulous by the minute.

"The hell? Why would I do that?"

More talking on Shinra's part.

" What I'm doing is none of your business. " Shizuo looked about ready to turn off the phone.

"Yes, I am with Ishima- How the hell do you know that anyway?" Shizuo asked gruffly.

A second later, he looked to the side and Kumiko followed his gaze to find Shinra in his usual white coat, standing a distance away. He was waving towards them madly, obviously very excited about something.

The phone shut with a snap in Shizuo's grip before being pocketed again. Kumiko scratched her cheek, deciding that now would be a good time to leave. Though she knew that Shizuo and Shinra were friends, that didn't mean the ticking of Shizuo's brows as Shinra approached with a widening grin wasn't a worthy warning sign.

"Shizuo! Kumiko-chan! How are you guys?" Shinra said as he jogged up to the both of them, a bag in his hand.

"I-I'm quite f-fine, Kishitani-san." She bowed in greeting.

"Why did you call me if you were here anyway?" Shizuo snarled and Shinra raised a hand in defense.

"Calm down, Shizuo! I didn't mean anything by it." A nervous laughter passed the man before the excitement returned to him. "But besides that, it's great that I came across you two today! I need your help."

"Eh?"

"Hn."

"Don't give me such responses!" Shinra cried at the lack of vigor displayed by his friends.

"S-Sorry?" Kumiko stammered in confusion. "Um…W-What is it that you wanted h-help with?" She couldn't imagine what sort of aid she could provide this person who grew up with Ikebukuro's most dangerous people and lived with a dullahan. Her history was just a bland fish compared to his.

"It isn't anything hard! I got a new recipe I wanted to test out and I just needed to go collect some plant samples out at Chichibu forest."

"C-Chichibu? T-That's in Saitama…." Kumiko mumbled, recalling her geography lessons.

"It's not that far, Kumiko-chan." The girl wondered if they were even close enough for him to address her so informally. "It's the weekend now, so I imagine you're free, and I could really use the help. Celty is too busy to come with me, so I have to do it myself." Shinra sighed in dismay upon acknowledging Celty's unavailability and Kumiko almost pitied him seeing his despairing visage.

"I'm not going all the way to Chichibu to help you," Shizuo said in a final tone as he lit a cigarette.

"Ehhh? You didn't even consider it yet! I'll pay for the transport and lodging and everything. It's just for a day! You'll be back in Ikebukuro in no time~" Shinra chuckled with sweat dripping down his forehead when Shizuo turned a very annoyed glare on him. But he continued braving the storm.

"It'll be a nice forest area, very calm and relaxing. You like these sorts of places don't you, Shizuo? Besides, you'll be a distance away from Izaya at least."

"Don't say that louse's name."

As Shinra bantered with the ever increasingly agitated Shizuo, Kumiko pondered over Shinra's request. She didn't have anything to do this weekend- actually, she never really had much to do on the weekends due to her limited number of friends ….

And it had been a while since she was close to nature. Her last meeting with Celty, where they watched the sunset, had reminded her of her lost intimacy to nature. It would be nice to get in touch again….and it would also be an opportunity to draw some natural environments.

She was getting a bit tired of drawing grey old buildings.

But beneath all these reasons lurked another major reason which had haunted her constantly since her coincidental/fateful/fortunate/unfortunate meeting with some of Ikebukuro's elite.

And that was that if she ever wanted to be free of the lonely and boring pit she dug herself into, she would have to try to climb out of it. She had to stop thinking of being hurt, or shamed, or made a fool of and whatever excuses her bloody mind kept making up to avoid doing anything.

She had to stop being such a sodding coward and hypocrite.

"W-When do w-we leave and return?" Kumiko asked, shying back when two pairs of eyes turned on her.

Both were clearly surprised at her question, though Shinra quickly recovered. "We leave by train early morning tomorrow and return by Sunday noon!"

A split moment hesitation took over Kumiko. Her parents would so fucking kill her if they ever found out she was going on a…sample-hunting trip, with an older man whose line of work she did not know much about and yet seemed shady. It sounded like a golden pedophilia/kidnapping trap.

Kumiko didn't feel that Shinra would lead her to harm though.

Even more so when Shizuo suddenly said he would go as well.

"Eh? Really, Shizuo?" Shinra's eyes glittered. "Things will go by so much faster now that I have your help in collecting samples!" He picked up his bag which he had dropped in his momentary victory shout. "I'm going to go back and tell Celty and pack as well. I'll see you two at the station tomorrow morning at eight am!" With that, the doctor turned and walked down the street at a brisk pace.

Shizuo was twitching heavily when Kumiko turned a nervous gaze on him. "W-Why did you s-suddenly agree, Shizuo-san?"

"Why the hell did you agree anyway?" he asked angrily. "And the hell I would let you go with him alone! Knowing Shinra, he'll be taking blood samples from you before you even arrive at Chichibu!" Shizuo muttered this and other colorful things as he walked away, and Kumiko stared after him in surprise.

An oddly happy feeling arose in her, and a sense of accomplishment.

Shizuo…took on the request because she was going….

Kumiko was nothing but a giddy schoolgirl with a crush that night when she returned home, laughing and smiling to herself.

Her neighbors stared at her oddly and shook their heads.

"Poor girl. She must be so lonely that she turns to fangirling that Hanejima Yuuhei."

"I know, right? She buys so much of his merchandise, it's ridiculous."

"Whatever makes her happy, I guess…Oh, the chicken's ready!"

* * *

"Ehhhh? With Shizu-chan and babysitter-chan?" Izaya asked with great interest as he watched Shinra packed his clothes. "And you really don't need all those for a trip like this~" Izaya added as he picked up…something, from the pile on the couch and threw it to the side.

"Don't throw my things away like that." Shinra said as he picked up the abused…something. "And to be honest, I was surprised Shizuo even agreed. He must have been eager to get away from the city."

"Hahaha~ Shizu-chan? Don't say weird things like that." Izaya quelled the urge to slice something. That protozoan life form was bugging him way too much to be healthy. "But what really surprises me is babysitter-chan going." The informant stuffed his hands into his hood and walked to the window in the room, staring down at the city.

"How troublesome…." Izaya muttered lowly to himself as he grinned. He was far from happy though.

"What are you guys going to do there again?"

Time for some adjustments to be made. Those two might be unpredictable with their actions- really, he had expected the two to do anything but accept Shinra's request- but Izaya prided himself on his ability to tweak things to his needs.

In fact, this trip of Shinra's might just be the catalyst he needed for things to move faster. Things were moving way too slow for his liking, especially in such a city like Ikebukuro; the whole city lived and breathed, with countless events occurring each hour.

And the event that he wanted was not approaching fast enough.

Then again, Shizu-chan's absolute destruction was something he'd wanted for a long, long time.

* * *

"Kumiko-chan, we're going to head to Uncle-Yama's ramen shop. You wanna come with us?" Aya asked as they walked out of the gates of the humble school.

Kumiko ducked her head and shook it. "No, it's alright. You guys go ahead."

Aya pouted and was about to object but Kumiko raised the sketchpad in her hand. Upon seeing it, Aya rolled her eyes but laughed nonetheless.

"Man, you're addicted."

"M-Man?"

"It's lingo." She said shortly. "But hang out with us a bit~! You have the whole weekend to draw!"

Kumiko laughed lightly, but rejected once again. "I saw a really nice creek formation down at the fields after the rain yesterday. I want to finish painting it before it dries."

Her friend rolled her eyes and patted the girl on the shoulder. "Kumi-chan, I will never get to be your maid of honor, will I?"

It took a couple of seconds, but Kumiko finally got it. "I-It's too soon to be thinking about s-such things!" Her face flushed.

Her best friend laughed loudly. "Don't be such a nun!" And she ran off ahead, waving goodbye madly before disappearing around the school corners.

Smiling at the antics of her friend, Kumiko turned the other way, towards the wet fields. It rained heavily yesterday and it caused small and large puddles to form all throughout the field.

Stepping tentatively onto the simple wood boards, Kumiko walked slowly.

Water flies flitted about the reeds and her legs, but Kumiko paid them no mind. Growing up in the countryside, insects like them didn't really bother her. She squealed when one board tipped and her left leg went straight into the murky waters.

Scrunching her nose in disappointment, Kumiko continued on. Her mum would yap her head off for that.

Arriving at the spot she found yesterday, Kumiko quickly took out her pads and color pencils, resuming the sketch she had begun yesterday.

It wasn't anything spectacular. The water puddles had formed into a ring, with a growth of reeds right in the center.

But to Kumiko, it was quaint and interesting.

Supporting most of her weight on her right leg, Kumiko quickly captured the scenes.

_Light, light, light, dark, light, dark, dark._

The pencil flew across the page smoothly. Her drawing was quick and simple. It did not capture the image of the puddle realistically, with many empty spaces between the green colored lines from the color pencil she used.

Many told her that her drawings were strange in that it usually lacked a solid form, taking on wispy and washed-out appearances instead. They thought it was interesting, but not worth much.

They may have been right, but Kumiko couldn't help it.

She believed that art was created by the artist and the viewer. The artist placed the foundation for the piece, and the viewer completed the piece with their own imagination.

It allowed freedom of the mind for both sides.

And to her, art was a gateway to freedom.

Growing up in the countryside, she led a pretty sheltered life. She watched the nightly news with her parents, and was constantly amazed at the different wonders the cities and other countries of the world offered.

Art allowed her to reach places she could only dream of.

She quirked an eyebrow at the odd way her drawing turned out before signing her name and age at the bottom of the page.

_Ishimaru Kumiko, 14._

Looking at the drawing again, she giggled quietly to herself, as if she was afraid that being too loud would shatter the world around her.

* * *

**Last chapter was the worst in terms of both reviews and writing orz *is down in the pits* Exams really took their toll on me and the Japan earthquake shot down my plans of enrolling to a school in Tokyo sigh now everything is being suspended orz sigh my writing is weakening as of late…*shakes fist at school* And now I am gonna try and push the story progression faster. Izaya's getting impatient too. He needs his spotlight now. Which cant be his until Shizuo has been dealt with.**

**Voting poll will close in one more chapter.**

**Ugh And my following of the DRRR show and light novel has been stopped for awhile due to time constraints OTL I think this story probably will not follow much of the story progression anymore. I was hoping to integrate it into the plot in the future, but I guess not now since I write more of this than I watch/read DRRR. So yea….**

**And I think I need a new plot bunny catcher for Fine Line.**

**Reviews please~ and uh….something another author I follow said which really hooked me: please don't leave a "update soon" review and end it like that lol since updating is a given, and so…that sort of review is really redundant and even discouraging at times. Us writers kinda like to think that after spending so much time writing each chapter, it will be at least nice of the reviewers to give a bit more time than just "update soon" in their reviews xD**

**Sorry if I sounded really demanding up there! But I just had to put that out. It's time authors started fending for themselves too~!**


	12. Before The Storm

_~Fairyride~_

* * *

_"That girl's smiling face as she talked to her friends looked so pitiful. _

_She looked almost like a heroine from a manga. _

_I fell in love at first sight. I really, really loved her. _

_But with my appearance, she would definitely hate me. "_

_Hero by Supercell_

* * *

Kumiko stretched as the train rumbled on to its destination, suppressing a yawn before it came up.

Shinra sat besides her, looking out the window and eagerly making notes of whatever he is making notes on a pad. Shizuo sat in the seat across them with his arms over his chest and looking out the window as well. Unlike Shinra, he wasn't bobbing his head up and down or doing anything particularly vigorous. He just sat there, a calm look overtaking his features as he stared out at the scenery. The morning sunlight filtered in and casted a soft glow over his already golden hair.

He looked ethereal.

Kumiko caught herself staring and quickly looked away before he noticed, a pink blush staining her skin.

Her parents had called last night, and Kumiko felt compelled to tell them about her short trip. But…they didn't ask what she was doing on the weekend or anything, so she conveniently made up the excuse that if they didn't ask, that it meant it didn't matter.

Shizuo on the other hand, had merely scoffed and said that there was no jobs to undertake with Tom this weekend. Idly, the golden-haired man had muttered that something was fishy about this, that it was too much of a coincidence that he didn't have work and thus was allowed to go.

He said the whole plan reeked of something.

Even though he said that, Kumiko could find no foul play in Shinra's eyes. He truthfully looked excited about whatever plant samples he needed for his chemical concoction or whatever it is that he's making.

"K-Kishitani-san….what is it that w-we'll be gathering a-anyways? I find it w-weird you need both our h-help for this…" She asked and the man turned to appraise her.

"It's nothing dangerous really. Your help would just help make things go faster, since I want to be able to test this combination out as soon as possible. It might help in my future surgeries. Not to mention I usually collect a lot, so Shizuo's strength is a good bonus. The last time I did such a thing on my own, I had to wait for Celty to come pick me up as I coulnt lift the boxes~" The man laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

Kumiko just looked in confusion. Celty is smaller in size than Shinra…how did she lift what he could not?

Upon arriving, Shinra checked them into a quaint lodging that was run by a family of four. The father, mother, and younger and older sister. The older sister was about the same age as Kumiko and the younger was perhaps 14 or 13.

The family had shot them strange looks when they entered. Kumiko shifted nervously but was not surprised; two grown men and a school girl checking into an inn? A strange sight indeed.

And suspicious.

Trying her best to ignore the stares being shot at her by the older sister, who was introduced as Fuko, Kumiko helped Shizuo pull the bags up the stairs. Or at least, she was about to help but the man single-handedly lifted all the luggage up.

"Here's your keys, Kumiko-chan. You get a room while Shizuo and I will share one." Shinra stumbled up onto the second floor hallway.

"Why the hell do I have to share a room with you?" Shizuo asked as he took his keys. His eyes twitched when Shinra smiled at him.

"To save on costs. Anyways, get changed into clothes that are proper for a hike and meet downstairs! We don't have the whole day!" The doctor gestured at Shizuo's bartender uniform and disappeared into his room.

"Tch. See ya." He said shortly and went in as well.

Kumiko suddenly felt very out of place as she stuck her keys into the doorknob.

"Maybe I shouldn't have come after all…." She ran a hand down her face and sighed into her palm.

She really wasn't getting anywhere with this agenda of hers. Why was she so fucking obsessed with being…special anyways?

Kumiko stood before the mirror and checked her clothes and hair. She looked so plain. At least Anri was well-endowed with her torso…and so was Kururi.

Perhaps for once, the turtle would just like people to notice the pattern on its shells and not the fact that it is a turtle.

Maybe she just wanted people to see her as something else than just Ishimaru Kumiko, the artist wannabe.

She wanted an essence, not an existence.

* * *

Kumiko quickly found out that she was really out of shape.

An hour and a half into the hike, she was already starting to lose breath and is the last of the three in their mini-train.

Shizuo was hardly breaking a sweat and Shinra was pulling along fine up ahead. Kumiko had imagined Shinra would be unfit as he did not seem to be the type that went out often. Or maybe his excitement for whatever he needs is giving him the adrenaline. Kumiko as a third party member had no direct interests in this.

Or maybe it is because of the sketchpad and pencils in her bag. They added extra weight which neither Shinra or Shizuo had.

Damn she was stupid for bringing that along.

"Oi, Shinra. How long more of this before we arrive?" Shizuo was losing his patience. He enjoyed the nature walk, but Shinra was fumbling around with his directions and it was pissing him off.

"Hmm…I swore it was here last time I came. Did the paths change?" Shinra talked to himself as he looked around.

Dense trees forged along their sides and Kumiko really hoped they would not get lost. She would never be able to find her way back amongst this density. About 45 minutes into the trek, Shinra had taken a turn away from the man-made path for hikers.

Shinra looked at his map, turning it over and over again and frowned. He swore that this is the correct map…

"Shizuo, can you head down this way? And Kumiko-chan down this way? Just keep going straight and don't make any turns so you don't get lost. Meet back here in about 15minutes to tell me what you see along the way. We should be at the right place." Shinra folded the map and pocketed it. "I'll go down this way."

Shizuo merely turned and began on his assigned path. Kumiko could see the calming effects nature was having on him. He blew up less since entering the forested areas. Although one tree did sustain injuries earlier on.

Kumiko went down her path, looking for anything that even remotely resembled the plant Shinra had crudely drawn for them. She grimaced as she looked at the drawing, noting the ways it could be improved.

She kept walking ahead, attention already lost to imagination and nothingness. She hardly paid mind to the foliage she was passing by, not even bothering to check for Shinra's plants. What Shinra doesn't know wouldn't hurt him, she supposed….fuck, she could not let this lying thing become a habit; lying was beyond saying what isnt true. To her, it included concealing what has not been done.

"Hah….I should start looking again, more properly. I did offer to help, and he even paid for the expenses…" She muttered to no one in particular and took out the drawing again. She started looking around.

And then something hit her.

Standing in one spot, frozen, Kumiko looked around with wide eyes, the telltale signs of panic and fear already creeping in. The sweat that coated her skin suddenly turned cold.

She could not recognize the way she came from.

"S-Shizuo-san? Kishitani-san?" She called out. Her voice echoed back to her, but no response from the two.

And then the fear began to set in. Pacing back and forth, her fingers unconsciously tore at the piece of paper in her hand. Should she try to find her way back or wait for them to find her? Did she even walk in a straight pathway? What if they couldn't find her?

"Fuck,fuck,fuck,fuck,fuck—Shit!" Kumiko cried to herself; her hands wrung themselves into her hair as she tried to think straight. Deep breaths were taken as she tried to calm her beating heart.

She will look. She will walk in a certain path for a time and then turn back here if it doesn't work.

Biting her lip nervously, her trek began at a quick pace, adrenaline pumping through her from the fear and panic.

Her throat was sore from all calling turned screaming she did. What was poorly controlled calls into the darkening woods turned into desperate shrieks of their name as she noticed the sky getting ever darker through what little of the sky she could see, beyond the dark leaves.

"Kishitani-san? Shizuo-san?" A drop of water fell on her forehead and she slumped to the ground in dismay, not even caring that her shorts were getting incredibly stained.

"Fuck…" In the distance, she could hear the quiet rumble of thunder.

Was she…ever going to be found? Maybe, perhaps, with a hand and a leg eaten by some carnivorous animal.

She really, really, shouldn't have come.

If she ever found her way out alive, she swore she will just stick to her normal life and not-

"Ishimaru?"

Kumiko never felt so overjoyed to hear Shizuo's voice.

"Shizuo-san?" She stood up, stumbling frantically over to the man as he approached her, his facial features agitated and mildly concerned.

"You alright?"

"Y-Yea…" She resisted herself from crying and throwing herself onto the man. She really thought that she was alone out here.

He closed his eyes, as if relieved before opening them again to reveal a pair of angry orbs.

"Shinra, the bloody idiot! He hasn't returned to the meeting spot and it's been over an hour!"

"W-What? S-So is Kishitani-san lost o-out there as well?" Well, the panic is starting to return now.

"The hell would I know? He has the fucking map!"

"S-So what are you d-doing here?"

"He didn't return, and neither did you. And waiting was a waste of time so I started looking for you two." Shizuo stared down at her and Kumiko rubbed her fingers across closed eyes wearily.

"I'm s-sorry. I g-got lost and…" She breathed deeply, though it came out more as a sniffle. Shaking her head furiously, she looked back up. "Kishitani-san is still o-out there."

"Idiot can rot out there." Shizuo said angrily. Kumiko expected him to snap a tree in half in his anger but he didn't. And she also felt that Shizuo did not meant what he said about Shinra rotting.

The sky rumbled, louder this time, and Kumiko gazed heavenwards in time for raindrops to hit her cheeks.

"Aww…fuck." She whispered the last part.

Shizuo did not catch her last words and was busy looking around. "We need to find shelter….or make one."

"B-But where…." She trailed off as Shizuo started walking; a good point was made there- talk less walk more.

They tried to find some sort of alcove or whatever in which they could get shelter in, to no avail. When the rain turned from light drizzle to something heavier, they had begun running. Staying under trees in what seemed likely to be a thunderstorm was not a good idea.

"Eeep!" Kumiko cried as her foot slipped from under her on the wet mud. How in fuck's name did Shizuo move without being hindered by this?

Surely he must have felt a difference from running on concrete to wet dirt. Perhaps she should take to chasing after people as well, like how Shizuo constantly chased Izaya.

"Tch." Shizuo stopped and turned back to help the girl. Agggh, how annoying.

Rain fell harder.

Urgggh, even more annoying!

Grabbing her hand, Shizuo disregarded her cry of surprise as he lifted her up easily. He threw her over his shoulder and started running, moving faster now that he did not have to wait for her to catch-up. They had to find shelter soon, or authorities will find a couple of lightning burnt bodies.

Yellow flashed overhead.

"S-Shizuo-san! I c-can still w-walk!"

"You're too damn slow!" He growled, jumping down from a small hill to the lower ground, hoping that there would be an alcove below it.

None.

Sensing the deep annoyance from him, Kumiko decided to bear this and was just glad she wore pants. Not having to concentrate on where they were going anymore, she looked up and around at the oscillating world.

She guessed it must be late evening now, though it was hard to tell from the ever darkening skies. Water pelted down on her face heavily, and occasional flashes of lightning went by. The leaves swished around them, the wind playing a gothic hymn through them.

Bloody pies, this place was creepy as hell during the storm.

"Damnit." Cursing, he placed Kumiko back down on her feet.

"W-what are you…" She gasped when Shizuo placed his arms around a tree, and uprooted the whole thing. Metal railings were one thing, but trees with their roots firmly grounded for years were another thing!

Shizuo easily lifted the entire tree, dirt bursting forth from where the roots emerged. And just as swiftly as he took it out, he leant the tree against another, making sure the other end was wedged firmly into the base of a tree opposite. The tree trunk was broad enough to cover them from the rain if they sat on the wider side.

And just like that, he made a shelter; barbaric, but a shelter nonetheless. It was better than nothing.

"Spontaneity sucks…" she cursed, muttering as she made her way over to Shizuo.

* * *

Izaya twirled around in his plush chair, laughing gaily to himself.

Namie ignored him and continued dusting all his chess pieces, shogi pieces, and whatever symbols he used to plot his diabolic plans.

"Can you move that white piece on the second board one space to the left?" He continued twirling as he said this. Resisting a sigh, Namie did as he asked.

Was it really necessary to have an entire board for his frankly stupid plot concerning Shizuo? She understood for Ikebukuro (not really), but this was just taking it over the top.

Then again, this is Orihara Izaya.

Izaya watched Namie, and knew exactly what went through her head. Grinning, he stopped his chair.

"Shizu-chan is really hard to predict and control; directly, at least."

"Hmm. I see" She picked up the duster again. Her expression hardly changed, but her interest was slightly peaked. Did he find a way to finally tame Shizuo? The Apocalypse must be approaching then.

Red eyes followed the rhythmic drumming of lean fingers against the desk. "But he just can't be used directly because Shizu-chan takes things simply and head-on…." This was a theory Izaya had whirling around in his head for sometime, but he never experimented with it until now.

Until he met babysitter-chan.

It wasn't that she fit some sort of special condition (perhaps a little). It was more that he suddenly felt like it, as the girl stood between him and his nemesis that one night. She was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Shizu-chan is a simpleton, and thus takes things to their bare minimum. Izaya **directly** beating around the bush with him, **directly** toying with him and **directly** manipulating him will not work.

As they say, kings did not conquer kingdoms on their own. They did so through their generals, and their generals through their armies.

It was hard, trying to get things to fit in with his plans. But he took it as a challenge. It would have been better if he could easily eliminate Shizu-chan, but that course was unavailable. He'll just have to take the longer, round-about way.

His framework was sketchy at best, and most of it relied on chance, luck and opportunities; three different names for the same thing.

Some might call those three fate. But fate played no role in his life- he decided what went on and what happens.

So chance, luck and opportunities it is.

"What is this?" Namie picked up a piece of paper.

Izaya looked over to see what she meant, and saw the map that belonged to Shinra before he pilfered it.

It was an opportunity that Shizu-chan and babysitter-chan was going with Shinra.

It was luck that he checked the weather in Chichibu for the weekend and found that a storm would be coming.

And it was chances that he is depending on that Shinra, who Izaya expects in all his excitement, will blunder up somewhere.

How it turns out….perhaps it will be fate.

Izaya knew the underground doctor for a long time. And though he was smart, calm most of the time, and calculating, Shinra tends to let his excitement get the best of him.

And Izaya orchestrated his excitement, giving him a fake and made-up recipe for a type of drug. It was specially forged to look somewhat legit, and not something Izaya scrawled up.

Right now there are two possibilities that can come of this which Izaya wants. Which of it will occur, or perhaps none, are largely dependent on chance.

One is that all three of them die in the forest. A sad outcome, but Shizu-chan will be gone. Though he's hoping Shinra survives at least; the doctor was quite useful. And Celty will probably not take things too well.

The other possibility is where they survive and having gone through sheer stress, pressure and fear together, they will have bonded closer together. After all, people come together in times of despair.

A war would have been great for that last possibility, but that means is too far out of his reach at the moment.

Namie waved the map in his face, expecting his answer.

Izaya grinned ambiguously and spun his chair again.

"The map is not the territory."

* * *

Celty paced around the room, her phone dialing Shinra. She looked at the clock on the tabletop.

It was way past the time they set for her to call him or him her.

_Shinra, just what are you doing?_

Celty was worried. She just watched the weather news and it stated that a storm has fell over Saitama area, exactly where Chichibu forest was located.

Shinra should be sensible enough to head back to his lodgings if he sees that things are becoming unsafe. And he also has Shizuo and Kumiko along with him. Kumiko is obviously the more sensible of the three, and Shizuo is smarter than he lets on.

So why isnt Shinra picking up?

Why aren't any of them picking up?

She called Shinra, she called Shizuo, and she even went as far as to call Kumiko on her cell.

Maybe the line is down from the storm? That has to be it…if not, Shinra would have called or picked up by now. He was always excited about anything concerning her.

But even then, Celty just had this bad gut feeling.

Getting up, she put on her helmet and went out with her motorbike.

* * *

"Achoo!"

Kumiko sniffled, her nose showing the beginnings of a clog. Her hair stuck to her face like a pest, and so did her clothes. They were like a second skin.

A very cold second skin.

Wrapping her arms tighter around her curled up knees, Kumiko sat stiffly under the tree Shizuo had killed…in a sense. So much for saving the world from global warming.

Shizuo was leant up against the tree that was acting as a supporting pillar to their makeshift shelter. He sat at its base, eyebrows furrowing as an unlit cigarette hung from his lips. Their shelter created a triangle area of sorts, and Shizuo had to sit on that end due to his height, or he would have sported several bumps.

Kumiko sat not too far away from him, unwilling to go to the other dank end. Shizuo's slightly outstretched legs touched against hers, and she grimaced at the small confinement.

If this is what it means to have a life of adventure, maybe she will rethink her decision.

She was cold, and her ankle hurts from the slip earlier. Not to mention the various scratches that littered her exposed hands and legs. And…was that a giant ant that just crawled over her shoes?

She shuddered, shakily flicking the abnormally large ant off her shoe. She only hoped no bugs fell on her head from the tree above their heads. And lightning.

So far, they were lucky that lightning had not struck them yet. That would just be the liberal seasoning of cherries on top of the cake.

The silence between them was only broken by the howling winds and occasional thunder. Well, until Shizuo decided to break it, surprisingly.

"How's your leg?"

Kumiko's head jolted up from their resting position against her knees, caught unawares by Shizuo's sudden voice. She looked over at her ankle, where a white handkerchief was tied firmly by Shizuo.

"It's a-alright…it doesn't h-hurt as long as I don't move it."

"Oh."

Conversations never seem to hold up between the two of them, and Kumiko lowered her head back onto her knees. Shizuo went back to trying to light his cigarette, to no avail. His lighter was too damp still.

"Do y-you think…Kishitani-san is a-alright?"

The man glanced up from glaring at his lighter, and shrugged. "The idiot got us into this. When I see him, I'll kill him."

When he got no response, Shizuo trained his eyes to where the girl was seating. Her form was curled and hunched. Her usually light eyes were darkened with worry as they gazed out at the darkness where only rain was discernible.

He let out a reluctant sigh. "He'll be fine. Shinra has more nature surviving capabilities than it seems."

"I…s-see."

But she wasn't worried about Shinra only. What about them?

Will they even survive through the storm? Lightning might suddenly decide to strike them and all there will be left of them are burnt crisps. Or what if wolves came? Were there even wolves in this area?

And will they even find their way out of this forest after the storm has passed? She doubt that networking reached them here, so calling someone for help is out of the question. And at the rate things were going, she would probably catch hyperthermia. Not to mention her sketchbook and drawing materials are soaked now. She would be lucky if she could even salvage them.

Her peripherals showed Shizuo who was hardly fazed by the icy water and pelting winds.

She breathed in harshly, in an attempt to control her shivers and chattering teeth. She tried to keep warmth to herself by hiding her arms between her torso and knees now. Yet the wind continued to seep into her skin.

Shit, it is bloody cold.

Her nose tingled momentarily, and Kumiko's eyes squinted. Another one coming along. Great.

"Achoo!"

Ugh, at least no snot came out of her sneezes. It would have been disgusting, considering the situation. She didn't really want to sneeze out snot in front of Shizuo. It was bad enough that she was sneezing to the high heavens while he…he was functioning like normal.

"You that cold?" Shizuo was surprised. He hardly felt anything.

She nodded her head. "Y-yea…a l-little." Okay, maybe not a little.

One of Shizuo's brow rose at her answer. He doubted that she was just "a little" cold. Really, why can't she just say she is cold?

He took in her figure.

Dark hair matted themselves against her cheeks and back, and her clothes stuck to her. Usually when he saw her she would be wearing loose clothes or the Raira uniform. So it isn't until now that he's noticed how small she was.

Her body was lean- not in the anorexic or the athletic way. Asians did have the tendency to sport genetically smaller figures; he was an exception. Japanese rarely ever grow as tall as him.

Constantly she shivered, and he could distinctly hear the chattering of her teeth, soft as it is. Her pale skin was even paler than usual, making her akin to a ghostly figure in this dark forest.

Shizuo could not understand the extent of her cold as he knows his…extraordinary capabilities prevents him from doing so. He hardly felt pain of knife biting into his flesh, needless to say the wind.

"Here."

Kumiko looked to her side to see Shizuo with an arm outstretched, handing her the moss green hiking vest that he had been wearing over his shirt.

He avoided looking at her. For some strange reason, he felt oddly embarrassed by his action. Maybe it is because he just remembered that it was a vest he was handing over, and is thus sleeveless? Still, it must be better than nothing.

Or perhaps it is the fact that it is wet as well…

Hesitantly, Kumiko reached out to grasp the cloth in her hand. She could feel the box of cigarettes in the pocket.

Bringing it back to her body, she thanked Shizuo in a soft voice. "T-Thank y-you…"

Kumiko resisted furrowing her brow. She appreciated the gesture from Shizuo but…the vest is as wet as her…

A cough brought her attention back to Shizuo.

The man in question had his eyes closed in frustration and annoyance, right hand closed into a fist against his mouth. He coughed into it one more time before running his hand through golden locks, which only fell back limply in wet strands. He opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated and closed it again.

"S-Shizuo-san….a-are you s-sick?" Strange. He was hardly shivering and is yet coming down with a cough?

He blinked and paused, passing a blank glance over at her. "No..." He trailed off.

Another silence fell between them. Only this time, it was a really awkward silence, or at least, that's how Shizuo felt.

"H-Hey…" Shizuo spoke up. Hell, was her stuttering symptom contagious?

"Come over here." He gestured towards the space next to him.

"W-what?" The red that stained her cheeks was considerably noticeable, even in the darkness, due to her currently pale skin.

"Don't get the wrong idea!" Shizuo said, growling under his breath in agitation and embarrassment. "You said you were cold."

"Uh…" Kumiko's voice got stuck in her throat. It is true, she was very cold.

B-but t-this….

She could just hear her best friend's voice, Aya, in her head, singing out lyrics of love and "s-c-a-n-d-a-l". If she and Kida were to ever meet, Kumiko had a gut feeling they would be very good friends, with their open personality and fixation on lovey-dovey stuffs.

"It'll be troublesome if you died from the cold or something." Shizuo said under his breath, unwilling to look at Kumiko.

Kumiko's grip on the vest tightened as she stared at the tiny space beside Shizuo, enclosed in by the thick roots on the side.

She was very much cold, and her body is demanding that she just get over the embarrassment and cuddl- no, get warm- with Shizuo's help.

But maaan, S-Shizuo is l-like…older…than her.

Wasn't there something wrong with this?

But t-this is a matter of survival….

By the devil's ass, she was torn between the two decisions. Why is it that she can never make up her mind about things?

Kumiko bit her lips as she pondered over what to do. It seemed like minutes has passed as she tried to sort out her feelings and calm the war within her. It really only has been seconds.

The wind blew again, and another round of shivers racked her body.

Her body really could not handle the cold much longer. Hell, she even slept at night without the air conditioner, using a fan instead; and she still uses a blanket.

Closing her eyes as she made her decision, Kumiko steeled her heart before slowly shifting her legs, and slowly slid over to Shizuo's side.

She hissed when she accidentally pressed against her injured ankle too hard and a sting ran up her leg. Shizuo, who had merely sat back and let Kumiko decide on her own, immediately straightened when he heard the vocal pain from her.

"Here." Reaching out, he laced his arms underneath hers before gently pulling her backwards towards him.

Kumiko's heart raced a hundred miles an hour at the contact, which had taken her by surprise. But more surprising than Shizuo's sudden assistance was the fact that he could be so soft and gentle with his actions. She was so used to seeing aggression and force from him that it never even occurred to her that there could be a softer side to the man.

The vest was still in her hands as she tried to settle in beside him and Shizuo grimaced at it. It had been a stupid move on his part. If the louse knew of it, he would never let it go. Then again, the louse had always been annoying so it made no difference.

Although he made the offer- really, he couldn't just sit there and watch her suffer in her cold silence, it chewed on his conscience- Shizuo was stiff as hell as he felt the smaller body beside him.

Close. Too close.

Shit, he didn't even sit this close to Celty or Tom or anyone.

Izaya did not count since he was trying to kill him.

Uncertainty suddenly took over Shizuo. He hasn't been in close and intimate human contact for ages. The last time was probably with his last girlfriend….which he can't remember when that was. Back when he was a bag of raging teenage hormones probably.

Kumiko wasn't faring too well off either.

Although the heat from Shizuo's body had an instantaneously positive effect on her, she was still bloody cold and now, stiff too.

She feared every miniscule action she took like the shifting of her palm or her ankle, lest she accidentally moved against Shizuo more than was needed.

Oh dear, she is such a social recluse.

Never has she been in such intimate and close contact with a person of the opposite gender. Hell, even with another girl, other than Aya.

Her breathing came out slow and deliberate as she tried to minimize as much movement from herself as possible. She dared not look to her side, but it did not seem like Shizuo had any trouble…he was just…sitting there.

Her breathing nearly stopped when she faintly felt her body tingling, sensing another round of shivering coming upon her.

It was inevitable though. Her body shivered again; really badly this time.

Shizuo, feeling the shaking beside him, finally looked down to see that Kumiko has become paler than before.

"Shit." He cursed. He was no doctor like Shinra, but it didn't take a genius to figure out the icy rain water and blowing wind had really affected her. She could get hyperthermia at this rate.

Her body would not stop shivering this time, and her teeth chattered against her palm that was covered by the vest. Kumiko's eyes were closed tightly as she tried to fight off the cold. Her body had always been weak to the cold, and a doctor in her hometown even suggested that she ate ginger with fried eggs daily to help regulate heat….

…only she didn't, as she hated gingers.

'_Fuck, wish I had listened to him…that senile old man.'_

"You're in really bad shape." Shizuo said as he looked over her form with slight worry.

"S-s-sor-ry…" She couldn't even speak remotely straight anymore, against the chatter of her teeth and quivering body.

He frowned. "The hell you apologizing for?" And without another word, he lifted her now slackened body and placed her before him, all the while being careful of her injured ankle. Kumiko on her part was too cold to even give a damn to what was occurring around her. All she felt was that horrid cold, the constant shaking of her body and a headache creeping up her neck.

She opened her eyes blearily to find herself in front of Shizuo, leaning against him on her right side. But a dizzy spell came over her, warping her visions, forcing her to close her eyes again to find solace in the darkness.

Taking the vest out of her hands, Shizuo hung it over his bent leg; it was only adding to her cold with its dampness.

Ignoring the oddly beating organ in his chest, Shizuo pulled the younger girl close to him- wrapping his arms around her and encasing her to him with his legs, making sure that her legs were curled in. It was an odd and compromising position, due to the age factor between them and relatively unstable friendship.

But the other option was to let her freeze.

He could feel the shivers racing through her body as if it was him suffering. It only made him cringe at how bad her shape was. Shinra was so gonna get it when they see him again. Shizuo just knew that it would have been bad to let her go with that doctor alone; so it was a lucky thing he came along.

That guy is the furthest thing from nice and hospitable sometimes.

The uneven breathing from below him dragged his gaze down to see the weary and miserable expression that loomed on the girl. She usually had this downcast expression on her but Shizuo felt that it was more due to her shy and hesitant nature than anything else. The expression she wore now served to make Shizuo appreciate the gloomy expression she normally has.

Damn that Shinra. And for reasons unknown, Shizuo suddenly felt angry at Izaya as well. He just **had** a feeling that this was in part due to Izaya…but he did not know how.

His grip tightened unconsciously around her upper arm, causing a wince to surface from her. Immediately regretful, he loosened his grip and controlled his anger.

Closing his eyes, he listened to the pelting rain and blowing wind. The rustling of the leaves and the occasional peals of thunder.

Shizuo found calm in nature and he hardly minded it out here.

But clearly, nature was not doing much good to Kumiko at the moment.

It wasn't long, perhaps half an hour or more, before her breathing evened out, though it still came out harshly at times. He checked and was glad to see that a bit of color had returned to her lips. It was still pale, but it was a much better shade now compared to the bordering ghostly white earlier.

Her relatively even breathing told Shizuo she was asleep. A good thing, since the rest will help her body recover. His mother always put him to bed during the rare times he got sick as a kid.

Shifting slightly into a better position, Shizuo then tucked Kumiko's head against his neck, although he had to slide down due to the differences in height.

When he was sure that he maximized the exchange of body heat as much as possible, he sighed and allowed himself to relax. Looking back down, he tentatively allowed one hand to rub along Kumiko's arm in the hopes that it will help alleviate the shivers that still veiled her sleeping form.

He frowned. Was she really that small and….weak?

He is so used to his strength and his size for quite awhile now that her vulnerable form did not sit well with him.

She had seemed so small when she sat at the other end with her clothes sticking to her. Leaning and curled up against him now, it was like he had overestimated her size previously.

Her arms were thin compared to his lean ones, and her wrists were tiny enough that he could enclose it with two of his fingers.

She was just so small and….frail, that it did not sit well with him. A person of her stature should not be associated with him. His explosive attributes did not complement well with her fragile attributes, and she would only get hurt- whether he meant it or not.

And Shizuo knew she realized this. Yet, she remained, ever since the day they met by chance.

And he was grateful.

If possible, he would rather that she no longer associated herself with him lest harm comes to her. But a part of Shizuo hoped that she would continue doing so.

Because as much as the leech bothered him, he still felt oddly lonely at times- he hardly saw Kasuka, and Celty had her own schedule to work by. Shinra has his own work tying him up and though he saw Tom frequently, that was a different type of connection.

Beyond all that though, Shizuo knows that he just did not want to be alone. Or rather, he wanted to be alone, but did not want to be either.

Hah, he was such a hypocrite.

He should have been used to the social segregation by now, having been afflicted since he was a kid. Loneliness though, did not seem to be a disease which one could get used to.

Kumiko was fearful of him, but she tried to understand and reach out to him. To try and connect.

It was nice, knowing that someone would willingly reach out to him. He will never admit it but the girl was closer to him than he thinks. What took others several months, and even years to do, she managed to accomplish in only a month and a half.

She did not have unique features like Celty that placed them in the same socially segregated position.

She did not know him since childhood like Shinra, Kasuka and even Izaya.

She didn't do him a favor like Tom.

All she had was her willingness to understand. And perhaps, that mattered more than anything. Because no one else was willing to till they had a reason.

Shizuo's eyes softened as her shivers finally came to a stop. But he continued holding her, just in case the cold came back.

That's what he tells himself at least.

He didn't know how long he sat there, listening to the howls of nature and the soft breathing beside him. But it was definitely awhile before sleep took him.

As the graces of the Sandman fell upon him, Shizuo's last thought was that the leech should not know of this- of anything that occurred tonight and of Shizuo's epiphanies.

Or he would definitely use it to his advantage.

* * *

**Gingers with fried eggs….yes. It really does work. Tested by yours truly~ hahaha My body is very weak against the cold (elemental weakness!) and I sleep without the fan and still use thick blankets. Sometimes I go through the day in my room without the fan too, and still have the curtains up to let sunlight in orz *is so weak* Came down with a flu really bad once, and actually passed out momentarily from blood loss to the head or something. I dunnoe. I just know I turned pale in like a couple of seconds, and my lips even lost their pink color lol and then dropped to the ground…ahahaha orz **

**On another note…poll is now closed. Shizuo won. By a long-shot x.x Izaya was winning at first originally, but when I announced that the poll was to be closed soon, Shizuo suddenly pulled ahead like crazy. It was like his fans were waiting in the shadows or something lol and I always felt Shinra is a very nice person….but the novel always describes him as bad x.x so I'm trying to mix those in- but not bad as in pure evil; more like, careless that results in bad things happening…haha. And no, Shizuo is not in love with Kumiko...yet. I'm scared I did not make it clear enough up there so am just making sure down here xD he just realized that Kumiko is closer to him than just a mere acquaintance. She is a friend, one whom he is willing to protect not out of goodwill (like previously when he saved her from theft) but because she is a _friend_, just like Celty. **

**Umm….reviews please? =( the reviews really seemed to have dropped in numbers….I understand for the last two chapters. They were really weak and bad orz I hope they come back soon….**


	13. What We Call A Friend

**Author's Note: Shout-out to MiAquaN for betaing my previous chapters, upcoming chapters and soon, this chapter xD contact is minimal between us due to RL and time differences, so she only betas after I update lol strange, but it works for us XD Forgive me for scarring your eyes with horrid writing; MiAquaN's beta'd chapters should remedy that.**

* * *

_~Fairyride~_

"_Oh look, they're giggling again.  
It's fine. I'm used to this already.  
I tell myself to forget it, but my chest feels like it's going to burst."_

_Hero by Supercell_

* * *

Celty had driven at speeds that definitely broke the law several times over, but she couldn't really care at the moment. The speed that she was going was only possible on her supernatural motorbike, so it only took her a few hours to arrive at the area where Shinra said they were staying. She would have taken the train but they didn't allow motorbikes there and it wasn't running in the storm.

It was near midnight when she arrived at the inn and shocked the residents. After they had calmed down from the unexpected night visit, they finally answered her question. From them, she had found that Shinra, Shizuo and Kumiko had yet to return, but they didn't call the police or anything as it was normal for lodgers to camp out. They had assumed the group was camping.

Celty merely nodded and left, intent on finding the trio on her own. She was mostly worried about Shinra, but that didn't mean she didn't care about Shizuo and Kumiko either.

'_Shinra…you idiot.'_

* * *

Someone shaking his body roughly forced Shinra to peel his heavy lids open, only to shut them back again from the wave of nausea that hit him.

This hand on his shoulder….was it Celty?

He struggled to open his eyes and managed to open enough to see a narrow gap. A black figure was over him, although everything seemed really dark.

And it felt wet too.

"Cel…ty?"

Through bleary eyes he saw her nod her helmet before he felt himself being lifted, an arm slung over her shoulder.

His head really, really hurts.

Shock and worry jolted Celty when she saw the blood that trailed down the back of Shinra's neck. He must have slipped in the rain and hit his head. Quickly, she placed him on the bike and got on as well, making sure that he was seated securely. She had to get him medical attention, and quick.

Expanding her shadows out had allowed her to detect Shinra, but she had yet to detect Shizuo or Kumiko. She could only hope they were alright, as Shinra's head injury did not seem too good.

She drove away unwillingly as she was left without options, and swore to come back to look for the other two as soon as possible.

* * *

"_Nyaaah, nyaaah!"_

"_Give it back!"_

"_What's with this ugly ribbon anyway?" The boy plucked at the ribbon weaved into the doll's hair._

"_Stop it! Give Lucia back!"_

_The girl cried as the boys taunted her, tossing the doll between them like a game of monkey-in-the-middle, where she was the monkey._

_A growl of frustration and a moment later, a football went flying before the boys, leaving a gust of wind behind._

_With a gulp, the boys looked to find an angry Shizuo with his brown hair ruffled glaring at them, hands outstretched in a throwing position._

"_I-It's Shizuo, let's go!"_

_They dropped the doll and left, screaming like the young kids they were. The girl picked up her doll and sniffled. She stiffened when she heard the soft shuffling of feet towards her, looking behind to see Shizuo taking small and unsure steps towards her._

"_A-Are you…okay?" he asked, softly._

_Although he helped her, his face held an air of uncertainty - bordering lonely, she could not help the cry that left her lips. His strength scared her._

_Gripping the doll to her chest, a cry leaving her lips, the girl ran off without even an offer of thanks._

_Shizuo was left alone in that playground once again._

* * *

Shizuo opened his eyes to find that it was still dark out. The storm seemed to have passed, at least, and all that remained of it was a light drizzle.

Fuck, his head hurts. Hard tree bark as a pillow did not do wonders for the head, obviously.

Light shifting caught his attention and he looked down. For a moment, his breath hitched and he stiffened, having momentarily forgotten about the girl.

And then it all came back to him and he relaxed, finally understanding why he was in such a compromising and intimate position with her.

Moving carefully to ensure he did not wake her up, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. Glad to see that it was still working, he checked the time from the white glow of the screen.

2:00 am.

With a soft groan of annoyance, his head fell back and knocked lightly against the tree.

He really would kill Shinra when they saw him again.

Finding their way back in this darkness was not an option, and Kumiko had an injured foot. Lifting his hand, he placed it against the sleeping girl's forehead. Great, it seemed she had a slight fever now too; unsurprising, seeing how bad her cold was the night before.

Patting the vest that was still hung over his bent leg, he checked to see that it was at least dry enough before draping it over her sleeping figure.

He settled back in, brows twitching as thoughts of how troublesome and frustrating this was ran through his head. He might pay the leech a visit when he got back to Ikebukuro, just to take out some of his anger.

As sleep slowly came back to him, his head unconsciously fell to the side tiredly, settling on top of Kumiko's.

Maybe it was from his weariness or his brain was just really muddled from the recent outturn, but all that he could think of at that time was how nice it felt.

It felt… right.

* * *

The sounds of a fresh new day called on Kumiko's ears with soft rustling of leaves, the chime of dew drops and the hymns of birds overhead.

She opened her eyes, feeling slightly sick, especially because of the headache that was pounding at her. It felt like she had gotten run over by a truck.

Soft air passing over and brushing strands of hair at the top of her head made Kumiko freeze. Now that she actually bothered to look around with her eyes, she was lying _on_ someone….And then she recognized the vest on her.

'_S-Shizuo-san?'_

Light pink dusted her cheeks as she tried to shift her head, but felt a weight on it. Peering up, she saw Shizuo asleep with his head on hers. The pink intensified to vermillion crimson.

Kumiko remained rigid, eyes now wide open and alert despite the pain in her head. Her senses became super-acute to everything - the tiniest movements, the tiniest sounds…

In his sleep, Shizuo moved and slightly turned to the side; Kumiko bit her lip when his arm suddenly wrapped itself around her further, like she was a pillow.

Her heart began a chaotic drumming against her chest which she could hear clearly. This was….awkward.

Gently, she tried to move his arms away and get out of his embrace but she quickly discovered that she could not do that easily without waking him up. Sighing, she reluctantly surrendered and tried to relax.

She wondered what happened that got them into such a position? She thought she had fallen asleep beside him, not _on_ him.

'_He must have been trying to help with the cold…'_ thought Kumiko. It was the only plausible reason. Shizuo was an honest man, definitely, and Kumiko could never suspect him of having any ulterior motives.

It was knowing this fact that she was able to relax, the tension leaving her body and allowing her to lay comfortably against Shizuo. Embarrassedly, she mentally admitted that it felt….nice.

Idly, she noticed how long his legs were compared to hers.

With a shy gaze, she looked up at his face.

He always had this blank or angry look when awake. Now, he was so…peaceful. Anger did not mark his features, neither was it a void canvas. His golden hair fell across his closed eyes like a soft curtain that was only accentuated by the slivers of sunlight filtering through the leaves. His lips that were constantly pulled back into a snarl were lightly parted, soft sighs of air leaving them. Pink feathered across the bridge of her nose.

He looked just….

Shizuo was a very…..

All thoughts fled her mind when brown eyes suddenly revealed themselves.

Time froze in between them as both processed who they were looking at and the way they were seated.

…..

"Eh?"

"Um…"

Abruptly, Shizuo jumped back from her- but due to their position, he only managed to lean back. His arms shot away from her simultaneously as if he had been burned.

His face was one of what Kumiko supposed was mortification, and a light red made itself known on his skin.

Of course, it was nothing compared to what was on Kumiko's face. She had just been caught red-handed staring at him.

"I-uhhh-that is-"

"I-I…w-well, s-sor-ry…"

Words tumbled out of their mouths carelessly, neither really knowing what they were saying nor what the other was saying.

With a groan, Shizuo slapped a hand over his face. Kumiko on her part had slowly inched off of him, remaining seated on the ground before him. She twiddled her thumbs together in embarrassment.

Shaking himself free of the initial shock and embarrassment, Shizuo looked up, about to make an apology, as it must have looked very suspicious- a male holding a girl in that way. "Look, sorry abou-"

"T-Thank you."

He stopped midway, staring at her curiously. "What?"

"I…" Unable to keep eye contact with him without bursting into flames, Kumiko averted her gaze down at her lap. "T-Thank you…T-That's what I s-said…"

Shizuo sat there dumbly for a moment before speaking. "I heard what you said. What for?"

"Y-You h-helped me…" Kumiko trailed off in confusion, head tilting to the side. "Right? I was c-cold and y-you kept me warm." Her eyes questioned him of this, though they also shone with a light that said she did not doubt him.

Internally, Shizuo was relieved that she hadn't misunderstood. The last thing he needed was another piece of trouble on his back or something that Izaya could tweak to his advantage.

He allowed his tense shoulders to relax. "Oh. You're welcome. It would have been annoying if you froze to death."

"O-Oh…Uh…S-Sorry."

Right. Perhaps that wasn't the smartest thing to say. Shizuo suddenly wanted to retract those words back and replace it with something more tactful. But what's done is done. He shifted the topic elsewhere.

"How's your leg?" He nodded at her ankle.

"Oh…I h-havent really l-looked…" With the aid of her arms, Kumiko pulled her leg towards herself so as to not further damage it. She cringed as she saw that it was even more swollen than yesterday.

Shizuo frowned. "That doesn't look good."

Kumiko tried to move it but pain only shot up her leg. She winced. "N-No…It isn't…

With an aggravated sigh, Shizuo stood up and put on his vest. "In any case, we have to find our way back. I have to beat that Shinra." He said as he looked down at her, offering a hand.

She placed her much smaller hand in his and allowed him to help her up. But the sudden weight only resulted in a stinging burn on her ankle and she hissed involuntarily. Had it not been for Shizuo supporting her, she would have dropped back down to the ground instsantly.

"I d-don't think I c-can w-walk very far l-like this…" Her face burned in mortification and embarrassment. She knew what it implied, and unwilling as she was, they did not seem to have any other choice. Carefully, she supported herself against the tree that was their crude shelter for last night.

Brows knitted together, Shizuo picked up his rucksack along with hers. "I'll carry you. I don't want to waste another minute of my life sitting here."

Kumiko did not question this or protest lest she annoyed Shizuo further. She already troubled him enough and though her weight worried her, she was absolutely sure Shizuo would have no problem lifting her.

Slipping her arms into the slings of her bag, Kumiko watched as Shizuo hefted his on one shoulder before crouching before her.

Slowly and with a burning face, she wrapped her arms around his neck as he slipped his hands below her thighs. Her skin suddenly became very cold and she broke out in a nervous sweat from the contact.

The contrast in their body temperatures was immense. He was warm as ever, like he hadn't even been in the rain while hers was obviously still suffering from lingering effects. And if her wildly beating heart was not bad enough, it found a need to soar in anxiety as well when Shizuo stood up.

'_Holy shit.'_

Her arms tightened instinctively, not because she feared he would drop her, but because…Shizuo was just freaking tall.

Shizuo tilted his head to the side, stretching against her grip. "Hey, could you loosen up a bit?"

"O-Oh, s-sorry…" Loosening her grip, Kumiko resisted the urge to just hide her face in his back.

Shizuo felt the tension emanating from her and looked over his shoulder at her, trying to console her, though he had trouble pulling a convincing face. "I won't drop you, I promise."

She flushed and nodded, slowly leaning the side of her cheeks against his back as he walked. Fatigue set in despite her efforts to stay awake. She did not feel that it was fair Shizuo was walking and navigating while she rested. But the light ailment lingered, and to a physically lack luster person like her, the excursion yesterday really had taken its toll.

"I never doubted that you would," she whispered softly to herself, mind no longer splitting between a reality and dream state, as her eyes slipped close.

She never meant for him to hear it.

She never saw the small tilt of his lips.

* * *

Shizuo had been ready to burst at the seams and throw something – preferably large and painful - at Shinra when they finally found their way back - well, with the help of Celty, who had been searching for them. Had it not been for the fact that Shinra himself had a good excuse, bandages wrapped around his head, and Celty standing next to him, Shizuo would have thrown him out the window.

Shinra had been quickly attended to by the doctor at a nearby medical clinic, and once he was fully awake, quickly attended to himself. He was far more efficient than the clinic doctor was.

After that, he examined Kumiko's ankle and wrapped it up in a simple cast to prevent her from agitating the swell. With a few meds from him, he guaranteed it would improve in a couple of days. He also gave her a quick injection which he claimed would help alleviate her sickness before it turned into a full blown high fever.

The three of them took the train back to the city while Celty drove back with her motorbike. Shinra was upset that the trip did not turn out as planned, and he didn't even get any samples to use. He also said that now that he looked at the map properly, it wasn't the map he usually had; which was why they could not find their way.

Kumiko deadpanned at the man, wondering why he did not check the map before coming. But she did not hold it against him, since he seemed apologetic enough and promised to make it up to her and Shizuo - or maybe because Celty would not stop punching him in the gut that he made that promise.

They arrived back at the city earlier than Celty since they took the train. Which was why Shizuo offered to help Kumiko back home, what with her injured leg and all, since Celty was unavailable. They shared a taxi from the station which stopped by Kumiko's house first. Shizuo got off with her whilst Shinra continued on back to his home.

"T-Thank you, Shizuo-san," said Kumiko from Shizuo's back as he slid her keys into the knob.

She leant over and pushed the door open wider as he picked up her small luggage bag.

"It's fine."

Putting her bags down, Shizuo kneeled down and allowed her to get off. As soon as her feet touched the ground, Kumiko bowed in thanks, using the tableside as support. "T-Thank you s-so much again!"

He looked away with a grunt, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I told you, it's fine."

"E-Even so…you h-helped me a lot. If it w-weren't for you, I would probably have h-hypothermia by now." She was truly grateful to Shizuo and his actions, even if he did not deem it as a big deal.

"I'm…r-really grateful." Her words rung with honesty and Shizuo felt it pluck at something within him. The dream he had earlier and bits and pieces of memories came back to him; so many he had helped, and many of them still feared him.

It wasn't as if he could help his strength. His fists clenched in annoyance inside his pockets.

"Hey, Ishimaru-" He began but Kumiko shook her head and smiled at him sincerely.

"Kumiko. Kumiko is fine, Shizuo-san."

Shizuo blinked in surprise at the lack of stuttering but did not object. It was fine, he supposed.

It should be fine, depending on her answer…

"Kumiko…are you…" he trailed off for a moment, pondering whether he should ask. Did he want to know?

Yes, he did.

But what if the answer wasn't something he wanted to hear?

When it came down to it, he was only human and there was only so much rejection that he could take.

But the need to know, the need for honesty from the people around him overrode those feelings and he voiced his question.

"Are you afraid of me?"

His brown eyes settled on her in an intense gaze, gauging her expression and watching her eyes. Shizuo did not like it when others lied to him, and one way he found this out is by watching their eyes.

The eyes were the windows to the soul, as they said. Shizuo wasn't a very scientific person and thus did not follow the psychology of eye movement; up was them thinking, down was them remembering something, down to the right was- agh, whatever. He couldn't remember all that rubbish.

He just had a feeling, an instinct of sorts that told him whether the person is being honest, through their eyes. Izaya always had a sneaky and malicious look to him, and Shinra had a faux veil of optimism at times. Celty…he just knew Celty wasn't lying to him.

The question took Kumiko by surprise and left her at a loss of words. But she gathered her wits together, looking down as she sorted out her feelings...and answer.

It was complicated.

She was just the sort of person where simplicity never came easily.

Shizuo frowned when she looked down as that negated the honesty that he was looking for. If a person can't even look you squarely in the eyes when speaking, that means they have something to hide and is not willing to reveal it. Then she breathed in and looked back up, and Shizuo saw determination.

"I-I'm not one of the m-most brave people…in f-fact, I'm a real c-coward, as you c-can see." A shade of embarrassed red marked her skin as she said this, but Kumiko continued nonetheless, not wanting to back down.

She had made a spontaneous and perhaps silly vow to become friends with Shizuo. And she had been trying to do this so far by giving him baked treats- _baked_ _treats_! Shizuo wasn't some kid she could buy over with candy. Perhaps why she was doing that then was because she did not see any other way.

But after recent events, and now this question, Kumiko realized that she needed honesty with Shizuo. More importantly, honesty about her feelings. She was scared of him, yes. But at the same time, she wasn't either.

Because of those contradicting feelings, many hypocritical and misleading actions and words resulted on her part, such as the lie regarding Izaya.

"I-I'm actually s-scared of you." As soon as she said that, Shizuo did not feel like hearing the rest. He probably could have guessed. But what he guessed was wrong.

"I-I'm scared, but not as scared as b-before. I-I'm scared because you are s-so….powerful, and strong. And to a c-coward like me, it's hard to h-handle that. But I'm also not s-scared because I k-know that you are a kind-hearted person."

Dear gods, her skin might burn off at this rate. This was so mortifying; it was like she was confessing to her high school crush or something. Well, perhaps a little….she had to admit that Shizuo was quite good-looking…

But that was a topic for another day. And it was also extremely awkward for her to express herself honestly. Everyone knew that she had problems saying what she was really feeling.

"Y-You helped me so many t-times now, so I know t-that Shizuo-san is a good person." She looked into his eyes, and very much wanted to tell the lie that she made. But she couldn't, not yet. She was still too scared.

"S-So, I want Shizuo-san to k-know that, if I'm e-ever scared of you, it's b-because of my own n-nature. It has n-nothing to do with Shizuo-san!" Finishing, Kumiko stared fixatedly at the ground with a face as red as a tomato.

She really felt like a schoolgirl confessing to her crush.

Another silence fell upon them, and Kumiko shifted uncomfortably, anxiously wondering why Shizuo wasn't saying anything. Did she offend him somehow? Maybe he actually wanted people to fear him? Oh fuck, if that was the case, she should probably start praying.

Shizuo, on his part, was just really surprised at her words. He did not expect that.

Another moment passed in a beat. "U-Um…I'll g-go get you some water!" With that excuse, Kumiko shuffled past him to the small kitchen.

He watched her go, eyes following her back, watching as she rummaged in her tiny wooden cupboard for a cup.

She came back with a glass of water for him, and he took it out of courtesy. He wasn't really all that thirsty.

Fiddling with a pencil she randomly picked off the table, Shizuo could tell Kumiko was really nervous and out of sorts at the moment from his lack of response. So he spoke.

"Thanks."

Neither knew whether it was for the water or for her answer.

* * *

"Senpai, what happened to your leg?" Mikado asked worriedly as they walked up to Kumiko. She was limping with a pair of crutches, courtesy of Shinra and delivered by Celty early that morning.

"O-Oh…I…injured it over the weekend…" she muttered something else under her breath, but the trio could not hear what it was.

"Sorry? What did you say?" Mikado asked again.

"That is besides the point, Mikado-kun! Here, senpai, let Kida Masaomi help you with your bag!" The blonde bowed and offered his arm in service.

"T-Thank you, Kida-kun…" She handed over her bag, grateful for the help. It was getting increasingly hard to carry the bag and walk with the crutches at the same time.

The three escorted her up the stairs, kindly helping her up, for which she was grateful. She would have taken hours if she tried to get up on her own.

Putting her bag down on the desk, Anri turned to the senior with a relatively blank look on her face, though not completely clear of sympathy. "W-We'll c-come back l-later to h-help you," she said quietly.

"That's right! So don't leave the classroom afterschool without us!" Kida demanded with a flourish, wagging a finger in her face.

Kumiko giggled and sat down into her chair. "T-Thank you, everyone."

Saying their goodbyes, the three quickly made their way back to class before the bell rang.

Kumiko watched as Mikado allowed Anri to go out the door before him, a blush on his face, and she smiled at the sight. His crush was soooo adorable! And pretty obvious too…it was a wonder that Anri never noticed.

Speaking of Anri, Kumiko really felt like Anri was a bit like her; timid and quiet. But the difference was that she had great friends like Kida and Mikado. Although the three had extended their friendship to her, it was different.

The trio shared a special bond somehow; a bond she could never be a part of.

It was a bittersweet feeling, realizing this.

Didn't Mikado move here from a small town as well? Huh, strange. First Anri, and now Mikado. She wondered what sort of possible similarities there was between her and Kida then….

She tapped her finger in thought.

Nope, none. She honestly couldn't think of one at the moment.

The bell rang, and the teacher walked into the class. As she struggled to stand along with the other students in respect towards the teacher, she was just glad she knew the three of them.

It made her feel not so far out of the social circle, even if she could never be a real part of their triangular friendship.

* * *

Although Mikado, Kida and Anri originally offered to help her afterschool, something came up that troubled Kida and he had quickly apologize before leaving the school in a hurry. Anri followed soon after, and Kumiko was a little suspicious if not worried about what was up with the two. She figured it wasn't really her place to ask though.

Mikado, looking like he really wanted to go after them, had insisted he would stay and help Kumiko. But the senior girl told him that it was fine, that he should go check up on his friends since that was more important to him.

The freshman had shot her an appreciative look for her understanding and left as well.

And that was how Kumiko found herself hobbling out of the school after struggling to get down the stairs. It was relatively easier than making her way up the stairs, fortunately.

She did not expect to see Shizuo at the front gates of the school however. Surprised and completely shocked, Kumiko unconsciously stopped in her tracks, mouth falling open into an 'O' as she stared at the man, casually smoking under the afternoon sun.

Shizuo took notice of her and nodded at her in greeting before walking over. He could faintly feel the stares of straggling students staring at him.

"Yo."

Snapping out of her shock, Kumiko gaped and quickly spoke, voice coming out in a higher squeak than intended. "W-What are you d-doing here, Shizuo-san?"

"Oh. I thought you might need help because of your leg." He glanced down at her cast and the crutches. "I would have helped in the morning, but I had work with Tom-san."

"O-Oh…." Kumiko really did not know what to say. This sort of help was not only unexpected from Shizuo, but it was also….sweet.

"I…" Her eyes averted down to the ground as she felt a burn creep up her neck. For fuck's sake, it seems that this blushing will always be a symptom that occurs whenever Shizuo is around.

"Here." Shizuo reached down and took her school bag from her, lifting it easily despite all the books and notes cumbering it.

Kumiko relinquished the bag from her tight grip. "T-Thank you…"

He turned and began walking out of the school compound, and Kumiko hurried after him as best as she could with her hobble. A smile played at her lips when she noticed Shizuo stopping occasionally to wait for her although he seemed nonchalant about it, looking around crowded street.

He was a really great person. And friend.

Friend, huh?

She really considered Shizuo a friend now, didn't she? Even if they had started out awkwardly, and on a rocky basis (pffft), she had wanted to reach out to Shizuo and understanding him as a person. She had to laugh at her ludicrous reasoning. It sounded like something an elementary school kid would say.

Superficial.

Maybe the real reason she wanted to be friends with him was not some virtuous need to connect and help others connect. Maybe it was just a selfish reason - she didn't want to be alone and normal.

Alone and normal.

Previously the two largest things that haunted her.

Perhaps it really was just that; it wasn't because of Shizuo and his segregation from society that caused her to make that spontaneous decision. She simply wanted to stand out and not be alone.

And being friends with Shizuo was like killing two birds with one stone.

Kumiko stared at Shizuo's back as he walked ahead, a veil of melancholy suddenly passing over her eyes.

She was such a bitch.

Lost in her thoughts, Kumiko was jolted back to reality when someone bumped into her rather harshly. She easily lost her footing due to her faulty leg, in addition to her natural physical clumsiness. She fell to the ground with a cry of surprise, crutches clattering down beside her.

"The hell? Watch it, kid!" The man yelled down at her, his multi-neon colored hair burning brightly against the sun. Kumiko winced as she pushed herself up, casting a glance at the glaring delinquent and his friends.

Normally, she would be afraid.

"Hey, check out that uniform. It's Raira." One of his friends said.

The one that bumped into her was the obvious leader as he smirked, and reached down to grip her arm. "So you go to Raira, eh? I bet your parents are rich then, to be able to send you to that school."

"L-Let m-me go!"

"Hm? Making demands now, are we? Normally, you apologize for bumping into someone first." Kumiko really felt like sucker punching the guy in the face. But she knew well enough that any hit from her would be like a mosquito bite.

She restrained from telling the guy that he bumped into her.

One of his friends stepped on her crutches and eyed her wrapped leg. "Dude, she's a cripple." A bout of laughter went around at his words.

Biting her lips, Kumiko steeled her eyes and frowned at the group.

Her usual fear never came. On any other day, she would be crying by now and begging for mercy, profusely apologizing to them.

But today….

She had a friend with her.

The sound of something metallic and ominous creaking attracted the attention of the group, and they looked to the side with go-the-fuck-away-looks, intending to scare the passerby away. Ironically, they were the one who were scared shitless instead.

Instant panic and fear spread amongst them as they immediately recognized the man casting them a furious glare, whose fury radiated throughout his body and seemingly resonated against their nervous pulses.

"Let. Her. Go." Shizuo growled, each word emphasized with a sinister crunch of metal squealing from the sign pole in his grip. In her heart, Kumiko was eternally relieved that she was not the one that incurred his wrath. Though she knew it was not her he was aiming for, she could not help the small shiver of fear that coursed down her spine.

He was absolutely livid.

"S-Shit! It's H-Heiwajima Shizuo!"

The sign was pulled from its position by Shizuo, cement bits flying everywhere.

The delinquent dropped his hold on Kumiko's arm, moments after she felt the shaking ailing his body. "T-Tch…Run!" The group quickly abandoned harassing her and fled.

To no avail.

"GET THE FUCK BACK HERE!"

Kumiko's eyes involuntarily snapped shut as soon as Shizuo sped pass her. She heard screams, and loud crashes.

She kept her eyes shut, fearful of the sights that would greet her when she opened them.

She hated violence.

"You alright?" The familiar voice prompted her to peek an eye open to find Shizuo standing before her. She fought against curiosity and did not look to the side where the screams, moans and groans were still reverberating.

Kumiko nodded numbly, watching as Shizuo grabbed her crutches and handed them to her.

She took it without a word and stood with his assistance.

"T-Thank you…again." She looked up into his eyes as he hefted her bag. Shizuo did not smile, though Kumiko supposed that tilt of his lips was as much of a smile she was going to get from him.

…She hated violence.

"It's fine." He ruffled her hair.

This time, he walked beside her and not ahead, making sure that no one else ran into her. It was easily done with his reputation and the terrible frown that marred his face; everyone avoided them.

Kumiko looked at him and smiled in appreciation. He noticed, and instantly looked ahead, a hand rubbing the back of his head.

Abruptly, the shame from when she lied to him about Izaya returned, and she too, looked away.

Shizuo was a very good person, and a good friend.

And she - she was intrinsically a total bitch.

* * *

**You know...I received more than 170+ unique visits to the last chapter of Fairyride, Before The Storm. Around 150 of those visits were in the first 4 days...and I only got 5 reviews for the chapter =( It's kinda...disappointing? During this month of April alone as well, I also received more than 600+ unique visits to Fairyride...I only updated one chapter, not including this chapter, during this month...and so in summary: for 600+ unique visits, and a chapter update, I get 5 reviews...sigh**

**And I wrote all this during the looming of my IB exams too.**

**Okie,okie- I kinda get that reviewing is boring, and time-consuming and not worth your while since it doesnt benefit you directly and you already got what you came for...but you know, most of us writers (or maybe just me XD ) are motivated by reviews. It tells us that people care enough about our works to actually place a small input; we spend a lot of time kicking out these long chapters, so it'll be kinda nice to get a 5 second worth of review- "Nice job!", "Great chapter!" or "You suck!"...I write to satisfy my own fangirling needs. But I also want to make sure that what I write is to your liking and not completely out of range. Your reviews tells me whether what I am doing is okay, whether you are fine with it, what I should improve on etc It helps me improve, and that in turn helps you too with (hopefully) better stories.**

**I am really grateful to those who have reviewed so far, especially the regular reviewers. Because of them, I continue writing; because of them, I also know that my grammar skills are beyond salvation and so I am fighting a losing battle to improve it. But the point is that: your reviews does matter! DX**

**I dont bite, really D: I like hearing feedback from readers, even if they are bad (I got a flame once, but I was cool with it; we had a nice discussion filled with funny and sarcastic moments XD) and I love talking to my readers as well and asking their opinions, what they would like to see etc for some things that will occur in future chapters, the ideas actually came from the reviewers themselves as I discussed with them what they think and want to occur. So in addition, you get a chance to see an event you really want to happen, happen. Like a make-out session with Shizuo and Izaya or something...w-well, it has to be in context though xD**

**So a big thank you from me to the ones who reviewed so far, and of course, the regulars! You know who you are~! *thumbs up and super air glomp***


	14. Trolling Rumours

**Author's Note: If you forgot, Shin Senjyo is Kumiko's handle name. **

**Oh, and do check out my new Durarara fic, Psychedelic Dreams =] There was some sort of anomaly when I updated that story, and it failed to appear on the Durarara fiction section orz but feel free to find it on my profile page =] It's sort of a story that branches off from Fairyride's background, but other than that, it has absolutely nothing to do with Fairyride. It is merely a…fangirling outlet….of sorts. With **_**Shizuos**_**. (Yes, with an 's').**

**Reason behind the title: Whilst typing this chapter up...I just met the most annoying troll ever on the face of the earth =_= totally killed my writing mood. FML**

* * *

_~Fairyride~_

"_Then the boy met her." _

_Hero by Supercell_

* * *

"Hey, did you hear? Apparently that senior girl, Ishimaru Kumiko I think, is dating Heiwajima Shizuo!"

"What? No way! Her?"

"Hahahaha. Funniest joke of the day man. Hot as that sounds, she's underage."

"No, I'm serious. I saw them together the other day."

"You serious?"

"She was probably pissing her pants. She's a wuss, no offense to her."

"I still don't believe you."

"I'm telling the truth! I swear!"

* * *

"Isnt that Heiwajima Shizuo?"

"Yea….who is he with?"

"I have no idea…never seen her before."

"What do you mean you've never seen her before? I think this is like the third time I saw her with him this week."

"Maybe she's a whore dressed as a schoolgirl? Who knows what goes on in that monster's head."

"Heh, probably."

"I highly doubt that though."

"Since when were you his supporter?"

"I'm not! Still, better keep note of this. It's interesting."

* * *

Kanra: Did you hear? Apparently, Heiwajima Shizuo has been seen with a girl lately.

Kanra: It seems she's a Raira student, based on her uniform.

Tanaka Taro: Eh? Heiwajima Shizuo…isn't he that really scary person?

Setton: Hmm…really?

Kanra: I'm telling the truth! Rumor on the street is that she's his mistress and that he is a ephebophile!

Tanaka Taro: What's that?

Setton: I don't think Heiwajima is that kind of guy….

Kanra: Heeh~ How do you know? Is he your friend?

Kanra: Don't tell me… you're just like him?

Setton: Of course not!

Tanaka Taro: But who is this girl that was seen with him? Can you describe her?

Kanra: Oops~ I gotta go off now~ see ya!

Setton: He left…

Tanaka Taro: ….

* * *

"Damn that Heiwajima Shizuo!"

"You still angry over that day?"

"Of course I fucking am! He made a fool of us! And look! LOOK! He took out two of my teeth!"

"Suits you buddy."

"Fuck you."

"If you're that pissed, just get revenge or something."

"You kidding me? He'll just kick our ass again."

"Hmmm…get his girlfriend first then."

"What are you smoking you sagging bag of dick? He doesn't have a fucking girlfr-"

"Look, I don't know, okay? Your complaining is starting to piss me off, it's been weeks now. Just…go do something about it. Bitch."

"Fuck you."

* * *

Nakura: I heard recently that the man named Heiwajima Shizuo has been seen often with a girl from Raira. You know anything about that? It's quite interesting….Heiwajima Shizuo is very…explosive, isnt he?

Shin Senjyo: Really? I never heard of such a thing…

Shin Senjyo: Who is this girl?

Nakura: Saa…I'm not too sure myself. You go to Raira, don't you? Shouldn't you have heard of this?

Shin Senjyo: I haven't heard at all! But I'll definitely be on the lookout for this now. It's certainly interesting.

Shin Senjyo: I have to go now. I'll talk to you some other time.

Nakura: Bye-bye~

Shin Senjyo: Good night!

* * *

Kumiko kept her eyes fixed on the ground before her as she walked. Unconsciously, she began to gnaw on her lips, pulling them in with her teeth from nervousness.

She felt the eyes on her as she walked pass.

She heard the words in the hallways. She knew the rumors flying on the net.

About Heiwajima Shizuo and a certain girl from Raira.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out that it meant her.

As of now, this bit of news is still simmering under the surface and not many in the school had heard of it yet. But it won't be long till the grapevine spread through the whole school, that's for sure.

She wouldn't be surprised it if spread all over Ikebukuro either, considering the infamy Shizuo possesses.

But the students of Raira that had already got wind of it… most of them didn't believe it. Really, who would believe that the hermit Ishimaru Kumiko is associated with one of the most notorious men in Ikebukuro? It was just laughable.

They all either brushed it off as some poor gimmick or confusion with some other woman.

So she had no fears of it spreading like wildfire…yet.

It was true though that she had been spending more time with Shizuo ever since their trip that went haywire. It was strange, almost like a miracle, how they suddenly developed a deeper connection. It made her really happy to see that Shizuo was slowly opening up to her and she to him in turn; it made her feel that perhaps a real friendship was in development, or perhaps it was already there.

But it also worried her with the amount of attention that she was garnering from it. She is aware that currently, not many have yet to identify this 'girl' as her. And the few that did were not believed. She did not look forward to the day when it is officially recognized that she and this 'girl' are one and the same.

It is but a mere rumor floating about the net, Dollars, and Raira right now- the unidentified girl that is quite possibly, maybe, perhaps Kumiko. Those in the school suspected her but could not believe it. Those outside the school still did not know what to make of it.

Truth be told, she never looked much beyond what befriending Shizuo entails. Now however, she is starting to think that it might not be a completely good thing.

Like right now.

The same group of delinquent from weeks before- when they bumped into her, harassed her for it and consequently got Shizuo on their tail - stood right outside the school gate, lounging and squatting about.

They sported the same tough-guy look only with several blue bits of skin that was starting to fade, and one had a noticeable gap between his teeth now- it all made them look less menacing and more ridiculous. But that didn't change the fact that they were still muscled men with mean looks directed at her at the moment.

"Isnt that her?...That's her alright!"

Oh…oh…this isn't good.

Kumiko froze on the spot, staring wide eyed at them. Cautiously, she looked around and see if perhaps, by some sheer miracle, they meant some other student and not her. It was a terrible thing to wish on someone else, since they don't seem all too happy.

Alas, luck was not on her side today, if ever.

"Bitch! We meant you so stop looking around like some fucking idiot!" One, assumed to be the leader, straightened up from his slouched position against the metal railing. He also happened to be the one with a gap of black in-between his teeth. Kumiko sucked her lips in, trying not to laugh.

But that soon fled her mind as safety took first priority in her mind. She didn't like the way they surrounded her outside the school gates.

Not that a girl being surrounded by a group of men was ever a good thing, most of the time. Life wasn't a reverse harem after all.

"W-What do y-you w-want…?" She stammered, eyes cast about warily as her grip tightened on her school bag.

"You're Heiwajima Shizuo's whore aren't you?"

…say what?

"W-what?" The alarm and surprise was evident in her voice. Kumiko's eyes became wide as saucers at the question. Her and Heiwajima Shizuo, an item?

Greatest joke of the year in any other situation.

"N-No, I'm n-not-!" She winced when one behind her gripped her shoulders tightly. That was sure to bruise.

"Don't lie you bitch! He helped you the other day and we've been seeing you with him!" He pushed harshly and she stumbled forward.

"I-I'm –not…"

The one with the gap in his teeth grabbed her wrist and pulled her up to his height, straining her arms at the tension. "Look at what that bastard did to me!" He pointed at his teeth.

'_Don't laugh Kumiko, now is not the time…oooh, crap, crap, crap.'_

She cringed when he glared at her with ferocious intensity. "He's has to fucking pay for this." He tightened his grip and tugged her arm upwards, jerking her entire body. "And you'll be the one bearing the bill, whore."

From the corner of her eye, she saw him take out a pocket knife. Immediately, she paled and her hands became clammy with cold sweat. This was not good.

Outside of the circle the delinquents made around her, she saw a couple of Raira students watching with alarm and worry.

But none of them moved for fear of their own safety. Her eyes pleaded desperately for anyone to help her, but they avoid looking at her. A few girls quickly retreated behind the school doors.

'_Somebody….help me, please.'_

She saw golden hair from within the school compound moving.

"Let's see how you like a new make-over!" He raised his arm.

"Kumiko-senpai!"

Her eyes screwed shut as the knife came towards her face.

But the pain did not come. Hesitantly, she peeled her eyes open to see another arm clothed in black grasping the wrist of her attacker.

"Bullying people isn't cool. And violence against girls is downright lame." A smirk graced her savior's face followed by a small chuckle that ran shivers down her spine.

Orihara Izaya.

Her would-be attacker wrenched his arm out of Izaya's who released him airily, the same grin stuck on his face.

"Shit-pole, stay out of business that isn't yours!"

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong. Babysitter-chan here happens to be an acquaintance of mine and I have some business with her, so her business is entirely mine as well~"

"O-Oi, d-dont, t-that guy is-" Someone behind the so-called leader started to whisper but his 'leader' did not listen.

He raised his armed hand again, ready to strike. "Then you can die with her-" His words were cut short and attack promptly foiled when Izaya smoothly disarmed him with a quick lock onto his hand, taking his pocket knife for himself.

Izaya snickered and dropped the other man's knife onto the floor, before crushing it beneath his foot. A wince escaped Kumiko when she heard the sound of metal screeching against each other and when she caught sight of Izaya taking out his own flick blade.

"Your blade brand is so barbaric." Izaya commented, grinding the sole of his foot harder. His eyes trailed across his own blade, appraising it the way a samurai would appraise his sword before sharp eyes trained onto the disarmed delinquent who now only begun to see the danger he was messing with.

He gulped harshly. "Y-You…"

Suddenly, Izaya raised his arm in a slicing motion, missing the tip of the nose of the delinquent by a hair's breadth. The now shaken male yelped in surprise, jumping back in fear before turning tail and running.

With the leader down, the underdogs crumbled as well, rushing away from the school as quickly as possible.

"We'll r-remember this!" One soul brave enough called back before disappearing down the corner.

Izaya's shoulders shook as he chuckled, eyes closed in mirth at the pathetic way those male humans fled.

It was sadly amusing, really.

Taking in a deep breath to calm himself, Izaya looked over his shoulder. Kumiko stared back at him in confusion- grateful, but confused.

Sad little thing she was.

Shaking herself from her stupor and shock, Kumiko looked at Izaya questioningly. "W-What are you d-doing here, Orihara-san?"

"It's only polite to say thank you to someone who helped you first." His blade clicked shut and wary doe brown eyed followed the blade movement back into his hood pocket. Eyes that glowed crimson under the sun stared at her in amusement and condescension..

And suddenly…she felt safe.

"I…t-thank you." She bowed low. "T-Thank you so much." Kumiko gasped, finally realizing that she was safe with Izaya around. Her heart still raced and her anxiety would not stop.

But she was safe. They were gone.

She took in deep gulps of breath as she tried to regain that which was lost when the man held her at knife point. She had been so horrified at the suddenness of everything that she forgot to breath.

"Kumiko-senpai!"

At the familiar voice calling her, Kumiko turned to see Mikado, Kida and Anri approaching her hurriedly.

"Senpai! A-Are you alright…?" Mikado asked hesitantly, as if the senior girl would break down and cry in a moment's notice.

"Y-Yea…I'm fine. Orihara-san here h-helped me…" She turned towards said man who waved at the three.

"It's been awhile, Kida Masaomi, aircond-boy and bully-victim." Izaya said with a laugh.

Kumiko's brow quirked at the weird names he offered the latter two, but disregarded it when she remembered her own nickname of babysitter-chan. More importantly, she did not know that the three were acquainted with Izaya.

"Y-You know e-each other?" She asked, looking back and forth between them. She could not help but notice the tension that entered Kida's posture. Mikado did not seem to notice, although Anri shot Kida a quick glance.

"We're just acquaintances." Kida said shortly. "But why are you here, Izaya-san? It's rare for you to visit Ikebukuro, much less Raira."

In her mind, Kumiko wondered where Kida's cheer and smiles went. He is currently too calm and too for Kida Masaomi's standards. Did something happen between him and Izaya? He only acted this way whenever Izaya was involved…it was the same the last time Izaya came to Raira too.

"I came here to see babysitter-chan, actually. " Izaya said, turning a cunning glance onto Kumiko.

"E-Eh?" Kumiko gasped inwardly. Why would Izaya want to see her….again? The last time he saw her voluntarily, he took her for sushi….but the first time he did it, he placed a knife at her throat.

He might be more bipolar than Shizuo is.

Stuffing his hands into his hood pockets, Izaya smiled and flapped his arms out, tugging the hood along like poor imitation wings. "Saa, babysitter-chan, after you~"

Kida suddenly snapped out of his momentary stupor and intervened. "Why would you want to see Kumiko-senpai, Izaya-san? She's really nothing more than a friend of mine and quite the hermit!" He laughed a laugh that sounded fake even to Kumiko's untrained ears.

"That is for me to know Kida Masaomi-kun, and for you to…not know~" And with that, Izaya pushed Kumiko along whilst the three freshmen didn't really know what to think of the situation. Their senior was so quiet and introverted…why was she attacked and why did Izaya, of all people, arrive to her rescue?

"Ishimaru-senpai….is kinda different, somehow." Mikado mumbled distantly as she watched the two figures disappear down the corner. "Don't you guys think so?" He turned to his two friends. Anri did not say anything in reply but that was expected. However, neither did Kida who merely watched with a blank slate.

* * *

"Don't be so tense. You look like you're going to faint there." Izaya said with a shake of his head, amused condescension lining him. "I don't bite."

"S-Sorry…it's not y-you, Orihara-san." Kumiko sighed as she walked along the streets of Ikebukuro, keeping a cordial distance between her and Izaya. "T-this is j-just the way I am…"

"Heh~ it seems very annoying." A grin lit his face and Kumiko's shoulders slumped forward in resignation. No point being hurt by that comment….it was true after all.

Her footsteps was matched by Izaya's who had deliberately started copying her walking rhythm so that they stepped in tune to each other, as one single frontier. But that was far from being true, of course for there was still a huge rift of uncertainty emanating from Kumiko towards Izaya.

This suspicious perspective she had of Izaya had been influenced by many factors, the main ones being Kida's warning to stay away from Izaya and also because Izaya had consciously raised a weapon against her. But if she thought about it, Kida also warned her to stay away from Heiwajima Shizuo whose explosive nature was also as dangerous as Izaya's blade.

She was better off with neither of them, to be honest.

Neither had hurt her…yet, but they each have contributed to extending her life span a little longer.

With that in mind, Kumiko decided to amuse the man who had yet to breach the reason why he wanted to see her, by asking him straight out why he wanted to see her.

"Orihara-san…w-what is it that you wanted to s-see me for?" she asked, coming to a stop at the red light.

Izaya shrugged airily. "I can't visit my sisters' babysitter now? What is the world coming to~?"

"….I don't think you're v-very much interested in my b-babysitting…"

The light shifted to a green and they began walking with the crowd of people clustered around them, all eager to get to their destinations.

"No, I'm not." Izaya laughed and Kumiko could not help but wonder how this man works. Shizuo was a mystery with his bipolar nature but Izaya boasted a form of complexity that went beyond the realms of her comprehension.

It was annoying…but also oddly fascinating.

Izaya recognized the spark that glinted within Kumiko's stare which she tried terribly to maintain neutral. The spark that spoke of need for adventure.

It was curiosity.

And in all honesty, Izaya loved curiosity. Which is why he's an information broker.

And he too, was curious.

He stopped, prompting the girl to stop as well. She shot him a questioning glance.

Looking around, Izaya allowed a smirk to crawl onto his lips before he settled his gaze on the girl before him.

"Tell me, Kumiko-chan…"For reasons unknown to her, a shiver ran up Kumiko's spine from the way he spoke her name. This was the first time he ever used her name to address her.

"What do you feel about Shizu-chan?"

The question took her by surprise, yet she wasn't completely shocked either considering their nemesis status.

"S-Shizuo-san? W-Well-" she started but Izaya intervened with a dramatic faux sigh.

"You are even on first name basis. How about you call me Izaya-san?"He said with a snicker. But the girl took it as blasé as they came and thought the man meant it.

"If you i-insist…I-Izaya….-san." Kumiko tested the name on her tongue, finding it strange and foreign to be addressing this person before her with his given name.

Izaya was almost tempted to laugh at her and retract his statement just to see the forlorn look that will surely take over her face at being tricked with something that was supposed to be personal, but he decided against it. He will gain better results if he allowed her to continue like this.

All in the long-run.

"So? You haven't answered my question yet."

A small part of Kumiko's mind mused at the sudden drop in cheer and humor that frequently liberated his form but she doubt that it was important. He spoke almost like a normal person commenting on the weather now. Almost.

Still, she hardly knew him well enough to categorize what kind of person he is- and to be frank, she most likely never will.

There were too many complex folds in the multi-faceted personality of the one named Orihara Izaya.

"Shizuo-san is a r-really n-nice person…" Izaya watched as a blush crept up Kumiko's face and she ducked her head. It wasn't hard to guess what – or _who_ would be the better word choice here- she was thinking about. "I d-don't understand why p-people think so b-badly of him-"

Izaya just had to snort and interrupt there. The disgust was creeping within him. He could not even imagine anything good about that barbarian.

"But that is all what you think about him. I asked you what you _felt_ about him. There's a difference, babysitter-chan~"

"F-Feel?" She looked as if she was about to faint.

Izaya said nothing and waited for her to gather her words together, watching as she sputtered and tried to form a coherent answer. The cool surface of his flick blade eased over the skin of his palm as he fiddled with them in his pocket.

It was weird how quickly she became flustered at the simple clarification. She did not want to admit the heat that was permeating her cheeks and instead insistently believed that it was because of the sun.

Why is it that she suddenly could not speak straight? As in, really could not speak straight? Her words left her mouth not as words but as broken letters. Her hands felt clammy all of a sudden and it became even worst when she noticed the lift of Izaya's lips.

Her mind did not see pass the danger that mirth could possibly mean.

Overtime, she stopped flailing her words and paused, taking in soft breaths as she thought out her answer.

In his mind, Izaya pitied the girl for being so _damn_ _fucking_ honest. It was clear to him now that she was indeed an honest person. It evaded him at first, as she was full of contradictory feelings. But now as he watched her frantically try to give him a proper answer to his frankly random question, it was undeniable that she was honest. Honest to the point that she took his question seriously and is now pondering an equally serious answer.

She could have just said that she hated the man or something and be done with the trouble.

"I think…" she trailed off and Izaya watched as the thoughts ran across her head and her eyes.

Her sickly honey brown eyes.

"…Shizuo-san is a…wonderful person." A small and airy laugh flitted pass her lips.

How is it that a laugh, an expression of joy and cheer, could bring about such terrible emotions of dislike?

Izaya hated that laugh.

It was light and breezy; the sort of laugh which one shared on a summer day as a drop of melted ice-cream plopped onto your thighs.

The sort that spoke of nothing but sunshine and rainbows.

Izaya hated it.

Dropping a hand onto her head, Izaya leaned down towards her as he held her head in place, making sure she looked nowhere else but at him. His grip wasn't hard, just a light pressure. His action made it seem like he was addressing a child who was telling a lie and could not look at you in the eye and speak the truth.

But it was the complete opposite here. She was speaking the truth.

He had no doubt about it.

"That's great and all, babysitter-chan…but I asked what you felt about Shizu-chan. That was still what you thought of him~" His eyes closed with the smile that did not reach his eyes. But she could not see through the lids that veiled them.

"O-Oh, s-sorry...then-"

Izaya was no longer listening. Her previous words gave him all the answers he needed.

And without warning, Izaya stepped backward just as a signboard flew between them, roaring right pass the place where he was standing moments ago. Kumiko jumped backwards with a squeak of surprise, stumbling and falling against the metal railing that caught her weight.

"Ah, that was dangerous. You got me, Shizu-chan~" said Izaya smoothly but annoyance was evident on his face, as well as slight apprehension.

Said man was less than a couple of stores away, where an owner was bemoaning the loss of his sign. Shizuo was not wearing his customary shades, and his agitation was imprinted all over him. Anger roiled off him in waves and Izaya felt a bead of sweat trickle down the side of his temple, anticipating the physical exertion that was sure to come.

Here we go again.

"You almost got babysitter-chan there too, you know…" Izaya trailed off ominously and Shizuo's eyes briefly flickered over to where Kumiko was leaning by the rails. But his gaze did not stay, opting not to let the flea out of his sights instead.

"Tch. That signboard was meant for you only and would not have hit her even if it will hit her!" He growled and reached out for the next nearest object: a potted plant.

Awe invaded Kumiko at Shizuo's words. His logic…was beyond her understanding. Much like Izaya's.

As the plant was heaved into the air, leaves scattered and rained down in soft showers around Shizuo whose tensed figure gave a hard edge to the green petals around him. "I knew you were a scum Izaya, but I did not expect you to bully girls too."

Izaya had to laugh at that. And laughed really hard he did. Shizu-chan's way of thinking is so simple and linear. This was way more regal than a mere bullying act.

"Bully her? Bullying is not cool, Shizu-chan~" He threw an arm around Kumiko whose cry of surprise was muffled within the sleeves of his hood. "Me and babysitter-chan here are real close."

He watched with intrigue at the emotions that was stirred in Shizuo with his words and actions. Deciding to liven things up more and to test the limits, Izaya brought his head down closer to Kumiko.

"See Shizu-chan, I wasn't bullying _Kumiko_-_chan_ at all because we're real good friends~" And with that, he planted a quick kiss on the side of Kumiko's face, right above her eye.

The effect on both Kumiko and Shizuo was instantaneous.

Kumiko flared a deep red and he felt her breath hitch as a gasp was taken in. Shizuo too, turned a shade of red only this was from deep vexation and anger.

The plant groaned underneath Shizuo's grip.

And then it went flying in the air.

* * *

Adrenaline rushed through his veins, and Izaya easily cart-wheeled over a concrete park fence before back flipping over one of the benches. Continuing his flight from his predator, Izaya dove around a corner and tried to lose his tail.

But he could hear Shizuo raging through the path Izaya left, and the distinct sound of wood breaking reached his ears. That must have been the bench.

"IZAYA!"

The rage ignited within Shizuo sent bouts of joy and thrill thrumming through his body. The barbarian was so easy to anger.

What was even more interesting was how livid Shizuo became upon his lips making contact with the girl. It had been meaningless and soulless on his part, just as a way to humiliate the girl even more and just to poke fun at Shizuo.

But their reactions went beyond his expectations.

He was surprised, but he wasn't surprised either. He had wanted this to happen, which was why he orchestrated those things between them- the motorcyclists, the baked confectioneries, Shinra's recipe and his 'misplaced' map, their time lost together in the forests….and Dollars.

All that he had been doing- all that he had been aiming for was to push them together, in the hopes that a friendship of sorts would bloom between the two.

And from babysitter-chan's response on what she thought of Shizuo- perhaps what she _felt_ was the better term- he had gotten results that was beyond what he had expected. At least on her part.

There had been admiration in her voice when she spoke of Shizuo. And it was not the sort of admiration you might have for a sibling, a parent or even an idol.

Ahh, unpredictability; it was a blessing and a curse.

Izaya dodged, narrowly avoiding the pole that Shizuo threw. It stabbed right into the concrete floor like a katana slicing hay.

The curse would be Shizuo.

And the blessing….

He smirked and jumped, grabbing a hold of a window ledge before propelling himself upwards. Swiftly and without pause, Izaya made his way upwards, scaling the building walls like that man in that video game, Assassin's something. Caucasians and their creations were interesting indeed.

He could hear Shizuo just right below him, easily catching up with him. The days when Shizuo struggled to keep up were long gone and Izaya kinda wished they would come back. Years spent chasing him down has given Shizuo mastery over free running as well, and Izaya quite liked it when he was the only master and no one else.

But no matter. Once he got rid of Shizuo, a thorn in his side would be gone….forever.

As he raced across building tops, jumping from one to another, Izaya went through the list of possibilities stored in his head since he met Shizuo.

Celty is untouchable, for obvious reasons. And he still needed Shinra's help in things so antagonizing the doctor would be disadvantageous. And Celty's help was also indispensable.

His brother, Heiwajima Kasuka would be another perfect target. And though he'd rather not be associated with his sisters – by the Gods, he can't even stand to look at them- he still felt partly guilty for his influence on them: it was because of him that they turned into the abnormal weirdoes they are. So he supposed to ease his conscience a bit- he was still human, even if he mostly isn't- he could allow them the one joy that makes them happy. So that eliminated Heiwajima Kasuka off the list.

The next possible target is Tom-

The windows next to him shattered and Izaya was forced to move ahead faster, for Shizuo had caught up when Izaya let himself wander into his thoughts.

But regardless of the reason why Tom is an unavailable target, what is more important is that he now had a new tool to pit against Shizu-chan.

Babysitter-chan. Kumiko-chan. Ishimaru Kumiko.

Skidding to a stop, Izaya turned and flicked several blades towards Shizuo. One managed to slice open the man's bartender sleeves, but he dodged the rest of them in addition to catching one between his teeth.

…Uncivilized barbarian.

Panting, Izaya pulled out his favored flick blade and equipped himself with it. But fighting with Shizu-chan here and now wasn't what he intended; the flick blade was just a precautionary step in the case the protozoa decided to pull something unexpected.

Shizu-chan's destruction would come later.

Right now, he had to bide his time and temper the weapon that he will use against him.

It is unsteady and flimsy currently, but great potential is to be had if he continued fostering the relationship between the two- pushing them towards each other till they suffocated in the very air they breathe.

He had no hard feelings towards babysitter-chan. She just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people.

"Why are you getting so upset, Shizu-chan? Is it because I kissed Kumiko-chan~? It wasn't even really a kiss. It was just a-"

"Shut up. I just want to beat the hell out of you." A low and steady growl continuously rumbled from Shizuo who fixed an almost crazed glare on Izaya.

Izaya did not like being interrupted. He really, really hated this man.

"Ne, Shizu-chan, is she important to you?" It was absolutely riveting to watch Shizuo react to his words.

His body tensed and Izaya could see the muscles shifting underneath the crisp clothes he wore that were dirtied from the day's chase. Golden brown eyes narrowed and teeth were further bared. His fingers curled into fists and the bones cracked from the pressure.

As much as Izaya hated to admit it, Shizuo portrayed the figure of a lion.

But if Shizu-chan was the lion….then he was the eagle that struck from the skies.

Where the lion made its presence known before the hunt with its size and strength, the eagle struck in silence within the blinding light of the sun.

The only thing that gave the eagle away was its own large shadow casted by the sun. And even then, it will be too late for the prey.

"So she is important to you then~?" But Shizuo gave no reply.

"…" A frown overcame Izaya's lips, but it was quickly turned into a wry smile. "Sorry, Shizu-chan. I must have misunderstood then. She isn't important to you, is she?" Izaya taunted and begun taking slow steps to the side in a languid dance. "After all, she's nothing but a mere school girl."

Sharp brown eyes kept a lock on his movements.

"If you even touch her-"

"Ahh, but I kissed her just now, didn't I? My bad, Shizu-chan~"

"You blood-sucking leech-"

Izaya stopped in his steps.

"I wonder….how smoothly her blood will flow…." His eyes flashed a malicious crimson and his hands traced over the sharp edge of his blade with a lover's touch. "Wouldn't you like to know too, Shizu-chan?"

With a laugh, he danced away to avoid the metal pipe that Shizuo threw, having ripped it off from the nearby water tank. Water was now gushing out, cascading over their shoes and Izaya grimaced. He'll have Namie wash that later.

He looked back up at Shizuo who was now outraged beyond words.

Izaya's brow slanted down in thought and his mind calculated the possibilities.

…no, it was still too soon to tell. The barbarian would get angry over _any_ threats that came from him anyway, so this one about babysitter-chan should be no different.

He should take things a little bit further for the ultimate effects.

With a foreboding grin, Izaya jumped onto the building ledge.

Knowing what he was about to do, Shizuo growled and dashed forward in an attempt to catch the infuriating flea.

But he was not fast enough for Izaya gave a short snicker, mumbled a few words, waved mockingly at him and then allowed himself to fall backwards.

Shizuo caught himself against the building edge, watching as Izaya freefell to the ground below from a height of twenty storey. Just meters away from _splatting_ against the ground- Shizuo wished with all his might that the flea would like the bug he is- Izaya twisted his body and grabbed onto a bar that stuck out the side of the building, meant for hanging flags and banners. His momentum allowed him to flip himself up onto the bar before hopping the rest of the way down, disappearing into the alley across.

Fuck, he lost him again.

The concrete cracked underneath his grip as Shizuo recalled the words Izaya said before jumping from the building.

"_Try not to get too close to her~"_

What did he mean when he said that? Did it mean that she was working for him somehow?

…no. Kumiko was not that sort of person.

Then just what the hell did that fleabag mean?

"Damn it, IZAAAYAAA!" With a loud roar of frustration, Shizuo spun on his heels and quickly made his way to lower ground. He had to check on Kumiko.

Whatever the flea meant, nothing good ever comes of Izaya.

* * *

**You guys made me a very happy authoress last chapter x3 the feedback was just amazing haha the number of reviews for last chapter tripled and more XD A happy authoress= moar stories….only this got delayed due to exams OTL**

**Please do keep reviewing when you can! As they say, Read & Review not Read & Run XD; * throws heart confetti***

**AND on another note…I'm thinking of slowing down updates on this story a bit, till October at least. Because I will be moving to Japan in October for studies and will be staying/studying in Ikebukuro. So I thought I would be able to write better on the setting and its relations with the character then, as I will be living there myself ^_^ Of course, I might ignore that notion completely and update this anyways since it seems really popular..…thanks for the faves and alerts~! I'm always surprised to wake up every other day and find a new alert/fave XD Of course, if reviews continue to be amazing as they were last chapter, I will update this story as usual~ nyufufufu - bricked for being a review whore-**

**And someone asked in a review about the poll: Shizuo won the poll- that means in the long-term and end of this story (whenever/if we get there), Kumiko will be with Shizuo =D But the triangle with Izaya will still be there….but really, Izaya is totally incapable of loving people, me thinks. Well, I'll try my best with him anyways and not butcher him too much XD I mean, even someone like Izaya HAS to be able to open his heart somewhat…or maybe I'm just trying to look on the bright side of things too much x.x **


	15. Hanabi

_Author's Note: Woaaah- I got like 1000+ visitors to my stories for the month of June, and 2000+ hits =0 And 20 or less reviews ahahaha Statistics is honestly mind-boggling XD _

_And sorry for this late chapter guys! Was sick for the past 2 weeks (pneumonia) and was busy with art commissions too…which I still am busy with orz They don't seem to end x.x Designing a tattoo is harder than I thought =/_

_**Btw, chapter two of Psychedelic Dreams is up guys~ For some reason, the story isn't appearing on Durarara's search list =/ So I have to promote it here haha**_

* * *

_~Fairyride~_

_"Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do."_

_Benjamin Spock_

* * *

"Tell me, Orihara Izaya, why I should do that? She is of no consequence to me."

The man leaned forward, face grimly illuminated by the single bulb hanging down from the ceiling like a bobbing pendulum.

_Swish, swish, swish_, it went.

The room was dark and musty. Shadows lurked in all corners. Dust drifted across the air in abundance, their presence only made known by the solitary bulb.

Orihara Izaya stood across from a man situated on a battered leather couch. He was dressed in a black suit with white pinstripes, and steel rings of various shapes and sizes decorated his fingers. An _irezumi_ of a white dragon was patterned across the right cheek and forehead of the man. The last and smallest finger was also missing from his left hand. A stern glare was settled on the information broker before him.

Izaya kept the smirk on his face. The man thought he could intimidate him just because they were on his turf. Damned yakuza's thought they were everything. And perhaps they did have the right to think that way; but this man, he was not the _oyabun_, and is just one of the many subsidiary bosses.

"She is of no consequence to you, Kuroha-san, and that is true~" Izaya rolled back and forth on his heels as he spoke. "But she is to me, and I believe you are still in debt to me."

Kuroha frowned, finding truth in Izaya's words. "I can merely pay you and be done with it. What you are asking is worth more trouble than-"

"Ah, ah, ah~" Izaya tutted in interruption. "But that was not our deal when we made it. You did not have the money at the time, and I accepted your offer of doing me a favor when I need it." A grin returned to his face in full force, but it was hardly pleasing. "I want that favor now."

Silence reigned in the room, only broken by the rhythmic booming of music from the levels above where a club operated.

"Very well."Kuroha spoke after a weighty silence. "I will provide the men you requested and execute your plan, as overdone it is. This is but a mere _girl_ you speak of." There was a hidden repercussion in his condescending tone.

"Hnnnn~" With a bow, Izaya turned to the door that led to the stairwell.

"And Izaya..."

He stopped upon the calling of his name, not even bothering to look back.

"If _any_ of my men are hurt because of this stupid plan of yours, you will pay dearly." A threat with a full promise.

Opening the door, Izaya grinned at the yakuza behind him. "But you said yourself that she is but a _mere_ _girl_."

The swinging door was the only sign that said Izaya's presence was once here.

* * *

"Ehhh? I still can't believe it!"

"But it's true! He really can lift trees, cars, poles, railings- almost anything!-without trouble." Kumiko breathed into the phone with great excitement.

It has been a long time since she talked to Aya. They usually conversed by email, but talking to her again and hearing her voice lifted Kumiko's heart in joy.

They would call each other more often if it didn't constantly jack the bills up. So they decided that their phones calls would be an annual thing that occurred once every three months, on the first Saturday night.

"I have to see this when I visit you in Tokyo!"

"You have to. I'll introduce you to him. He might seem scary at first, but he's a really nice person."

"Hnnn~ Weren't you scared of him, Kumi-chan?" A sense of nostalgia seeped into Kumiko at the nickname given to her by Aya. It really has been a long time since she last saw them.

"To be honest, I was. But he helped me so many times that I felt that he can't possibly be a bad person despite what everyone says."

Aya hummed into the phone, and Kumiko imagined her nodding her head as well. "That's true. Still, those guys were a jerk for trying to steal your bag!" The fiery girl growled and Kumiko laughed at her temper.

"But if they hadn't, I wouldn't have met Shizuo-san."

"Ahaha~ That's true too, I guess."

Kumiko smiled as she thought of the man with the hair of sunlight. "Thinking about it now, I really am glad I met him…" She trailed off, idly remembering the last few months she knew the man. It had been really awkward initially, but it has been worth it.

There was a short pause in their conversation as Kumiko took a trip down memory lane and Aya contemplated her friend's silence.

"Ne, Kumi-chan…"

"Yea?"

"Do you like this guy or something? You're always talking about him lately."

Kumiko spluttered into the phone stupidly. "W-What? Of course not!" Her answer was immediate and though Kumiko couldn't see it, Aya grinned on the other side.

"Suuuuure~" She just loved teasing her friend.

"I don't! Besides, he's older than me by like 5 years or something." Kumiko argued with a frown, but her heart thudded within her chest.

_Why?_

"So what? Age shouldn't matter when it comes to _loooooove_." Aya cooed.

"It shouldn't, but I don't like him like that!" Heat crawled up her neck and cheeks.

A pause. And then- "Are you sure?"

"I-" Aya sounded so serious that Kumiko faltered in her answer. Her heart gave another thud and the image of Shizuo would not leave her head. Her palm turned clammy in cold sweat all of a sudden.

"Just kidding~! Ahahaha~" Her laughter rang loud across the line and echoed within the quiet confines of Kumiko's mind, reaching into her heart.

It threatened to pull apart the bars that Kumiko wasn't even aware of that is within her.

"Ugh, Ayaaa!"

_Was she really sure?_

* * *

"Itadakimasuuuu~!" Mairu chimed before chowing down on the cupcakes Kumiko made that day in her home economics class. She laughed in slight amusement at how quickly Mairu delved into her cupcake, while Kururi took her own sweet time.

It didn't take long for Mairu to finish her three shares, and just as she was about to reach out for the last two in the box, Kumiko snapped the box lid close and shook her head. "These o-ones are for Shizuo-san."

Mairu pouted and pushed up her glasses. "It's not like Shizuo-san would know they were for him if he didn't know they ever existed anyways!" And with that, she tried to reach out for the box.

Leaning back to avoid the grip of the girl, Kumiko quickly took out the photos of Hanejima Yuuhei she bought the other day at Harajuku for situations like this, where Mairu was getting annoyed and is reaching for any object of danger- like that sharp mechanical pencil by her hand.

"H-Here, these are for you guys."

"Yuuhei-san!" The twins chimed in unison, quickly clumping together to sift through the packet of photos.

Kumiko sighed and tucked the paper box away. That was a close one. She didn't like the idea of having a gaping pencil-made hole in her hand or any body part, for that matter.

"Why did you suddenly start making all these stuffs anyway? And you even leave some for Shizuo-san." Mairu asked, flipping through the photos while biting into one of Kururi's cupcakes.

"H-Huh? O-Oh…I…" she wiggled her toes as she thought about her answer. "I take home economics class at s-school…I g-guess I didn't want to waste them a-any longer?"

"But…giving them…to Shizuo-san…is strange." Kururi said as she stared at one particular photo of Yuuhei intensely. It showcased him in a pressed suit of black, adorning a green tie that matched his eyes.

"Y-You think…? I just…thought that s-since Shizuo-san likes sweet things, that it w-will be good to g-give some to h-him…" Utter bullshit, of course. That was not how she started giving baked confectioneries to Shizuo. But the twins didn't need to know that, lest they start making fun of her and her ridiculousness.

Kururi looked up from the photo she was scrutinizing to cast her blank gaze upon Kumiko. The elder girl suddenly felt very transparent.

"Do you…like…Shizuo-san?"

"…."

Why the hell is everyone saying that lately?

"W-What?" She turned a bright red in mortification. "I do-"

"You like Shizuo-san? Does he know?" Mairu squealed in delight, sitting up with an excited glint in her eyes.

"I didn't say tha-"

"You can introduce us to Yuuhei-san then!"

"But I don't-"

"The drama is just amazing! Isn't Shizuo-san older than you?"

"He is, that's why-"

"And you're still in school too!"

"Which is why I-"

"Why do you look so crestfallen? Don't tell me, Shizuo-san doesn't know yet?"

"I don't even-"

"In that case, we'll help you!" Mairu said with glee, and Kururi nodded in agreement without even looking up from the photo of Yuuhei which smiled at her.

_Why..….just why her?_

* * *

"Oh, Ku-Mi-Ko! Long time no see!" Simon boomed above the voices of the crowded street. "Want to eat sushi? Sushi is good!"

"H-Hi, Simon-san…" Kumiko said with a nervous giggle and taking a step back from the towering figure that leaned towards her with a large smile. "And no, n-no sushi…not today."

"Oh no! You break my heart! Sushi is good!" Simon cried woefully and Kumiko smiled in apology at him, not knowing what else to do.

"H-Have you seen Shizu-"

"Yo, Kumiko-chan."

Said girl whirled around, surprised to find Tom amongst the people, with Shizuo in tow. A cigarette hung lit and limply from the bodyguard's lips.

"T-Tom-san, S-Shizuo-san- good evening. "She greeted them with a bow. Shizuo nodded at her in acknowledgement.

_th-thump_

"Shizuo! Tom-san! Want some sushi? Sushi is delicious!" Simon smiled again as he handed them a flyer.

"Hmmm…" Tom hummed to himself, thinking. "Should we have sushi, Shizuo?" He asked his trusted bodyguard and friend. "It's been a long time since we had sushi."

Shizuo shrugged and took another drag. "I guess."

_th-thump th-thump_

Tom suddenly turned to her and offered kindly. "Want to join us?"

She blinked in surprise but then realized she shouldn't have been. Tom was a pretty nice guy, generous if he wants to be…and harsh. She had heard of some of the things Tom does on his job from Shizuo and Shinra before.

"No, it's a-alright…I got some l-leftovers back at home…" Her gripped suddenly tightened on the plastic bag with the cupcakes she held behind her back as her eyes nervously shifted between Tom and Shizuo.

_th-thump th-thump th-thump_

"Are you sure? Fresh food is better." Tom said with a raised eyebrow, noticing the sudden skittish eyes she displayed.

"Y-Yea…I-I j-just…"

_I just came here to give these to Shizuo-san._

She felt her nails dig into the palm of her hand, and the sudden heat on her face threatened to overwhelm her.

_th-thump th-thump th-thump th-thump_

Shizuo's head tilted to the side slightly as he scrutinized the girl. "Oi, you alright?" Gruff as he sounded, worry could be detected in his words.

"Y-Yea! I'm…I'm f-fine…I….,"she breathed, looking from Tom to Simon and to Shizuo, who all looked at her strangely and with worry, "I…have to go."

With a quick bow, Kumiko turned and fled the scene, all the while wondering what the hell overcame her at that moment.

The three men watched her go in surprise, slightly baffled about her behavior. They knew she was weird but that was downright strange.

She never acted that way towards them before.

It almost looked like she was…

"Scared."

"Huh? What did you say, Shizuo?" Tom turned towards his companion who continued to stare at the spot where Kumiko once stood, a frown marring his face.

"She looked scared."

_I'm also not scared because I know that you are a kind-hearted person._

Tom's eyebrows rose further in confusion. "Hah?"

_I want Shizuo-san to know that, if I am ever scared of you, it is because of my own nature. _

The cigarette crumpled in between his fingers, a _tsk_ of annoyance leaving his lips.

"Stupid girl." Shizuo mumbled before looking at Tom. "Tom-san, I'm going to go check on her."

Tom blinked but nodded unsurely. "Yea…sure."

Simon stepped to stand beside Tom, the two men watching Shizuo weave through the crowds after Kumiko.

"What is up with them?" Tom asked aloud to no one in particular, still perturbed.

"Hmmm." Simon nodded in agreement.

….

"Want sushi? Sushi is good~"

* * *

What the _fuck_ just happened?

Why did she become so nervous all of a sudden?

She was fine up until Tom appeared…along with Shizuo.

As soon as she had caught sight of the ex-bartender, her heart suddenly began jumping in frantic beats. Her palms became cold and wet, and she broke out in a nervous sweat. Her eyes were unable to keep themselves on Shizuo, neither were they able to lose sight of him.

Suddenly, she became very frightened.

Frightened not because of Shizuo or any of the people around her.

Frightened because of the…._**things**_ she was suddenly feeling.

"_Do you like this guy or something? You're always talking about him lately."_

No, she didn't.

"_Do you…like…Shizuo-san?"_

She can't.

She…- She is still a student!

And he….he's a 24 year old ex-bartender, bodyguard to a debt collector, brother to a famous idol, The Fortissimo of Ikebukuro, one of the most dangerous men of Ikebukuro, the strongest man of Ikebukuro, archenemy of Orihara Izaya a-and…-and-….

He's Heiwajima Shizuo.

She felt terrified; she wanted to cry.

Why of all the people in the world….it had to be him?

So absorbed Kumiko was in her thoughts that she did not notice the black car that sped towards her.

So confused was she that she could hardly react when she felt hands pulling at her before a mouth piece was fastened over her face, and a strange odor pierced her senses.

Panic set in immediately and Kumiko started kicking and punching wildly, trying hard to not breathe in anymore of the gas they were leaking onto her nostrils and mouth.

But she already took an initial breath full of it.

She heard a man count.

"1."

"2."

"3…."

Her vision went black.

* * *

Shizuo did not understand why he chose to go after her. If she decided to suddenly turn his back on him and become one of those people who feared him, there was nothing he could do about that.

He had always told himself that one day, she will probably be too afraid of him to continue being his friend.

If he could even call her that. He supposed he could though.

It was an unexpected and unlikely friendship, was what he thought of the relation between him and Kumiko.

And yet, the girl made it work, somehow. Even he did not know how it happened. All he remembered were many days and months of sweet treats and strange occurrences (that was totally fishy in itself).

The bag theft, the motor gang incident, the storm at Chichibu, the delinquent groups…it was like she was some sort of danger magnet.

…..Perhaps she was. He wasn't the safest of people to be with either.

And then there is the matter of Izaya and his ominous words several weeks ago.

_I wonder how smoothly her blood will flow…_

Shizuo's **blood** boiled just thinking about that leech.

The days following that, he kept a close watch on Kumiko as much as he could; checking up on her at her school or her home, and texting when he couldn't make it. His actions baffled the girl as she did not know of what occurred between Izaya and him.

He could have told her but he didn't exactly want to frighten her either.

He did inform Celty, however, and the dullahan agreed to help make sure Kumiko will be safe. This was Izaya they were dealing with, and though Celty is on better terms with Izaya than Shizuo ever will be, she is still not dumb enough to trust the man completely, knowing the danger he poses.

…unlike a certain someone he's going after right now.

On the same day Izaya left his dark message, Shizuo had confronted Kumiko –well, not fronted per say- but he did inquire into her affiliation with Izaya. She had explained that Izaya helped her from the same delinquents and though she doesn't see him often, he did treat her nice enough…but Shizuo thought that something was off about her answer. Like she omitted something from her tale…

He gritted his teeth, just thinking about it. He did not know what to trust or think anymore.

He didn't know whether Kumiko could be trusted, whether she is working with the flea.

He didn't know what Izaya wanted.

Most of all, he didn't know whether he should cut off ties from Kumiko. That one little nagging feeling in his guts tells him that something isn't right.

But he didn't know what it is. And yet, the goodwill of his heart won't allow him to just leave the girl alone either, especially since Izaya is concerned.

Kumiko had always been very honest with him, from what he can tell. He can see it in her actions, her eyes, her words.

It was hard to ever think that she is capable of deception.

Maybe he should stop thinking about it and take what he was presented with as it is: that she is affiliated with Izaya but not as friends, and neither as foes. That she is just a neutral party to Izaya.

But if so, why would Izaya even bother saving her? And he bought her that cookbook too, didn't he? And then there is his retarded kiss to Kumiko and his warning to Shizuo.

_Try not to get too close to her~_

Just what did it all mean?

"ARRGH!" Shizuo growled, stomping on another cigarette viciously.

Perhaps he should just give up going after Kumiko for now. Izaya hasn't done anything for the past several weeks since that incident. It is unlikely anything will occur tonight or the following days either.

It is probably because it is Izaya that Shizuo is taking things to the extreme when it is not necessary to. Maybe Izaya had planned this all along, gave him that warning message to make him all edgy about something the leech will pull when in reality he wouldn't do anything.

That sounds a lot like something Izaya would do too.

"How annoying." Shizuo snarled lowly, eyebrow twitching at all the rampant thoughts in his head.

He should just forget about this all. It's too troublesome. He can't keep track of all this shit. He couldn't even keep track of the email spams he receives.

Up ahead, he spotted the girl, who had slowed down to a walk. She casted quite a pitiful figure, with her shoulders and head slumped.

Kumiko will be fi-

A black car sped around the corner, frightening nearby pedestrians. It was a Cadillac model of some sort; Shizuo wasn't interested in cars and their makes anyway.

What interested him more at the moment was the path the Cadillac took, which intersected with Kumiko's as she waited by the zebra crossing.

What was even more interesting than that was when the backseat door of the Cadillac flew open without the car even slowing down.

It is even more interesting when the car stopped only momentarily by the zebra crossing, hands shooting out to grab the dazed girl.

It was downright horrifying when the car took off with their kidnap.

Remnant smoke drifted up from underneath his shoes from where he dropped his newly lit cigarette.

It is when a woman screamed bloody murder about what just occurred that Shizuo snapped out of his perturbed state, hardly believing what just happened. He ran towards where Kumiko stood previously. Something went _squish_ underneath the soles of his leather shoes and Shizuo looked down; a wrecked silver box within an orange plastic bag, with lush milk cream oozing out from the ruined box's corner.

He frowned. This was what Kumiko usually made for him.

The Cadillac car boasted the logo of a white dragon that was branded across the car's sleek body, standing out as a shining gem of white against the mass of black.

Everyone in Ikebukuro and its neighboring prefectures knew what that logo signified.

It was the logo of one of the local yakuza gangs.

The Hakuryu-gumi.

Shizuo gritted his teeth, fingers curling into fists as he tried to resist breaking everything around him.

One word flashed through his mind: **Izaya**.

Only that bastard worked with the Yakuza.

Calmly and stiffly, Shizuo turned and began making his way towards Shinjuku. He reached for his phone at the same time, dialing Celty's number languid but precise manner.

Calm and tranquility curtained Shizuo's figure and aura; but he was far from that. Ripples of anger threatened to rip apart the calm façade he displayed.

He casted the air of a panther on a hunt: deliberate, quiet and dangerous.

People around him sensed the imminent danger from Shizuo, for they all smartly moved out of his way, clearing a path for him wherever he went.

He heard the line prick to life and sounds from Shinra's television reached his ears.

"Celty." He spoke in his usual gruff manner but even the dullahan could detect a sort of coldness to his tone as she listened. "Kumiko has been kidnapped by the yakuza."

* * *

**Review, pleaaase~ =0 **

**Irezumi- tattoos that are needled onto the skin. If you think your parlor tattoos are painful…**

_**Oyabun**_**- head of the Yakuza family.**

**I noticed something lately amongst the different types of stories written and what is considered to be a Mary-Sue….in reader-insert stories, I often find 'readers' who are wanted by almost every single guy she meets or at least, the main hero at quite a quick rate, and she usually has some sort of quirk that makes her desirable and special. I have seen 'reader' characters that are super strong, has a cool personality and vivacious descriptions….yet, no one considers them to be Mary-Sue. But if an OC even has one little specialty (be it being kind or extremely good at martial arts), they are immediately deemed a Mary-Sue. Lol. Human pride is such an interesting subject matter. **

**And thank you all who reviewed~! And also, thank you to those who favorite and alerted! Fairyride has officially bypassed Fine Line…by a long shot haha I find it amazing that it took FL 3 years to get to the amount of followers where it is now whilst Fairyride took a couple of months haha And also, thank you to the ghost readers too~ =D although, live readers are always better but that's okay XD I know you guys are all there…reading XXD**

* * *

**Seriously- hahaha thank you for the flame and for bringing up my review count with it lol**

**Khael- I think almost everyone in this fic is bipolar….Shizuo, Izaya, Kumiko…x.x it just turned out that way D: ahaha I do love reviews, though I don't get many….ahaha I guess I just gotta keep trying haha thank you so much for reviewing though!**

**Devonlizz- XD more will come, for sure haha thank you for reviewing~! *hug***

**Juunin- yes haha I might not be staying in Ikebukuro (it is not confirmed yet) but the school is located there =] I might be staying in Shinjuku and taking the train to Ikebukuro every morning haha le gaaaasp. Shinjuku….and Ikebukuro (Izaya and Shizuo) ahaha And I'm not sure if I can create a new fic once I go there XD I'LL BE TOO BUSY EXPLORING! xD**

**Psychotic Tendency- ahaha are you the one who is always named toolazytologin in my other fics? XD and it's alright =D it's enough that you are taking the time to review =] *hug* ahaha I thought no one reads the quote….but the quote is usually a subliminal message to the progression of the characters relationship and the chapter message, rather than what occurs in the chapter itself XD it's like a theme of sorts haha….I don't like spelling out the themes for people much, so many people never get the message I try to bring across in each chapter though =( I fail at subtle messaging orz And sorry about the grammar again! My beta hasn't responded to me lately so there has been no beta updates on my story as of late x.x I'll keep trying to be more aware of my grammar orz**

**LooneyDooney- wheee do gush with me about Shizuo and the characters haha feel free to find my google email on my profile XD I prefer to gush through chat since the juices keep flowing than through pms haha but that is entirely up to you though, if you wanna do it =D And thank you! I'm really happy you came across my story too XD more readers! ahaha**

**Last-blue-mage- ahaha I always feel that Izaya can possibly love people in a good way…it just will be really hard to get there roflmao I mean, look at all the Shizaya and IzayaXNamie fics around xD; and…IzayaXAnri . even if they are all canon characters, they are not romantically involved in canon yet people write him as capable of loving; I think he's capable of loving others XD Just….yea. Maybe it wont be as normal as other people though haha And thank you for reviewing and reading~!**

**Personwhoistoolazytologin- oh dear D: my story isnt worth the loss of sleep, so please take a rest before continuing next time! Ahaha XD; I honestly cant understand why you would do that! Part of me is glad Shizuo won the poll since he is easier to write the ending for, but I do plan to have an Izaya ending too- it's just I will give priority to Shizuo first XD I love them both haha….I can't choose with an easy heart though orz And thank you for reviewing~! **

**Shinkei Kajuen- thank youuuu! I don't feel my DRRR story is one of the best, but I am grateful you feel that way about it ^_^ There are much better DRRR stories out there though…mine is so blah haha And I'm also a lot like Kumiko XD; People call me cold in life…even my teachers ;_; I'm just too shy to say anything, not cause I am cold x.x**

**Arik- ahaha….it seems I don't even need to intentionally slow updates cause I am so slow anyway orz this chapter came out much later than I planned (stuffs happened orz) And I hope Kumiko changes too XD It gets tiring to write a character like her all the time haha I want her to go out and do something big! XD**

**Nina101- ahaha yes, he did XD He's a nasty little bugger, really XD And Kumiko is naturally trusting of people, but it's just that sometimes because of her scaredy-cat nature that she begins suspecting people. Ahhh, the contrast~! Ahaha if you can fit into my luggage bag, I'll take you along with me haha and thank you for reviewing again~! **

**Kitty1872- XD ahaha thank you~ I'm glad you feel that way about my story, but I doubt it is the best XD; And thank you for reviewing my other stories too! *air glomp***

**DurararaFan- Thank you for your kind words! I try really hard on Izaya, and I'm glad it paid off since you liked him =] although I think there are better portrayed Izaya's out there, I am happy you liked him here anyways XD And thank you for reviewing again~! *hugs***


	16. Savior In Chrome

_~Fairyride~_

"_You can't trust water: even a straight stick turns crooked in it."_

_WC Fields_

* * *

_"Celty." He spoke in his usual gruff manner but even the dullahan could detect a sort of coldness to his tone as she listened. "Kumiko has been kidnapped by the yakuza."_

There was a silence from the other line but Shizuo did not expect anything else. It wasn't as if his headless friend could speak.

He imagined she must have been stunned.

Letting out a breath, he continued speaking, a twisted grin threatening to break across his face. "I'm going to go see Izaya-_kun_ in Shinjuku right now."

He heard a _clang_ resound from the other end of the line. He ignored it. He could not be bothered to figure out what it was.

There were more pressing matters at hand.

Like Kumiko.

Like the _**flea**_.

_~"Follow your heart, but be quiet for awhile first."~_

Izaya was skipping down the pavement, a pack of fatty tuna sushi dangling from his wrists by means of a string. It is around that moment, just when he saw his apartment building entrance, when his Shizuo senses tingled.

His skipping came to a halt and his eyes narrowed in faux joy, before he leant back in time to avoid a white vending machine that would have nabbed his nose -and face- had he not evaded. His hair and clothes whipped with the air tunnel the vending machine left in its wake.

Shizu-chan….the brute as always.

"To what do I owe this pleasure, Shizu-chan?" Izaya smiled mirthfully yet bitterly. Even with the several meters distance between them, Izaya could hear the cracking of Shizuo's knuckles.

Even if Shizuo did not answer, Izaya already knew the reason behind Shizuo's visit. And he grinned further, taking joy in the apparent agitation found in the protozoa. Beyond that, his _interest_ has also been peaked.

Now all he had to do was become a spectator and enjoy what unfolds, as his name dictates.

"Kumiko has been kidnapped by the yakuza, and you are definitely behind it. Other than that, I just want to beat the shit out of you." Shizuo said with a tight lipped smile, eyes widened in fury and alert.

"Babysitter-chan has been kidnapped~?" Izaya whistled, feigning surprise. "Why would I have anything to do with that?"

"Cause you're a bastard and all the batshit events have to do with you at one point or another."

"That's quite an unfair point to make, Shizu-chan~"

"As if it matters to you," Shizuo growled, "You're the least likely person to play fair."

Izaya smirked in pure hatred at the golden haired man before. His hand reached into his pocket for his flickblade as a precautionary measure.

So different were the two of them, yet there was an ironic cruelty to the similarities between them.

They were both different and beyond what people deemed as normal, for various different reasons.

And they were both alone.

Even Celty had Shinra and people who trusted her.

But the two of them? Hardly.

Their families and the occasional odd friend they knew since their youths were the only people both of them had. And even that was a stretch.

Shizuo might have a handful more of people that were more inclined to trust him than Izaya, but Izaya is more easily able to blend in with people if he wishes to be, unlike the barbarian. It is just that Izaya chooses not to.

Where the trend is for people to dye their hair in platinum colors such as **gold**, his remained an original ebony black.

Life was most certainly having a laugh out of this.

Regardless, what Izaya desired most now, besides attaining a full-blown war in Ikebukuro, is to rid the earth of this protozoan existence.

To hurt him, break him, mutilate him, torture him, wound him, torment him, pain him….to the fullest extent.

For years he had done everything he could and everything in his power to get rid of him…but it never worked. Everything he wanted, everything he needed…he attained. But this one thing, he did not.

But now, an opportunity is presenting itself and Izaya will take it.

He's going to destroy Shizuo- if not physically (though this was more preferable), then mentally, emotionally… anything! So much so that he will never be able to rise and face the world with what little coherency he has. So much so that should Izaya choose to finally stab him with his prized blade, the man will not be able to counter.

Red eyes illuminated by the streetlamp watched carefully as his sworn adversary pulled out a street sign effortlessly.

Izaya's body tensed in anticipation, smirk still in place although it was unsettled.

Kumiko has been kidnapped by the famed Hakuryu-gumi….and it is evident that this bothers the bodyguard. So why the hell is he still here, preparing to engage him in battle, instead of going after the girl and her kidnappers?

Unpredictability: Izaya hated this about Shizuo.

He decided to test the turbulent waters.

"Instead of engaging me here in meaningless battle, Shizu-chan, should you not be going after the people who kidnapped babysitter-chan?" An insult veiled behind well-meaning advice.

Shizuo's eyes turned wilder with his rising anger at the provocation from Izaya.

"I will after I kill you and get all the information out of you!" He snarled furiously, whipping the sign up and around like a mace that was brutally more deadly than any properly manufactured weapon.

A sound that was a mix of annoyance, hatred and amusement was produced from Izaya as he leapt back to once again avoid Shizuo's attack.

The bodyguard absolutely detested how slippery Izaya was; it definitely showcased his manipulative behavior!

The two engaged in a ferocious battle that left even the supposed guard of Izaya's apartment cowering behind the concrete walls where it was safe. Nearby pedestrians immediately abandoned their activities and fled to a safe distance to watch the ensuing battle.

Dust, debris and destruction arose in that particular area of Shinjuku, more than enough of a signal to alert Celty where the pair was.

She arrived on her soundlessly roaring motorcycle, dropping right between the two of them and intercepting any future attacks. She shook her helmeted head at the two in apparent disappointment and agitation.

Her PDA was whipped out without a moment's hesitation.

[What are you two doing fighting right now? Kumiko-chan needs our help! I need one of you to contact the police!]

Despite her message, Celty mostly directed her attention to Shizuo, who seemed more likely to aid since it is still unclear whether Izaya was a foe or not in this matter.

"Alerting the police will not help any and will only cause more trouble: you're still a wanted person by some of the police force, Celty~" Izaya stated wryly as a reminder, causing Celty to jerk her shoulders in remembrance. A shudder ran up her spine when she recalled the policemen that constantly tailed her. "Not only that, the police can't do much against the yakuza; if they could, they would have long been quelled but instead they are thriving all over the world in countless numbers~" He added in an almost sing-song voice.

Shizuo had something else to say to that however. "Or maybe you don't want to contact the police because you're involved in it!" His legs were trembling due to the effort of restraining himself from charging up to the flea right now and squashing him like a bug.

Celty looked from Shizuo's livid expression to Izaya who stared at Shizuo challengingly with a condescending smirk, acting as the barrier between the two forces.

[Izaya, did you have anything to do with this?]

Said man took a moment to read the message before bursting in a short bout of gleeful laughter. He threw his hands up in the universal sign of I-don't-know while they were stuffed in his pockets, and shot Celty an almost offended look.

"Why is everyone saying I have something to do with this?" He asked dryly and with incredulity. In his head and mind where no one ever ventured, Izaya took pride in his acting abilities.

Of course, they hardly got him past Shizuo and the few people that are more perceptive, such as Celty and even Shinra on occasions. Well, that was probably because they knew him for a long time.

Even Kida Masaomi who was quite smart for his age fell for his acting.

Shizuo was about to snap back another reply but Celty gestured for him to stop. The man did so reluctantly, trusting his headless friend's…head.

[Then you will help us?]

"With Ikebukuro's Strongest and the infamous Black Rider coming to her rescue, I don't see why babysitter-chan needs me~" The informant snickered callously, noting how Shizuo's posture tensed even further.

[These are the yakuza we're dealing with. Like you said, if the police can't do anything, then the two of us alone won't accomplish much.]

Izaya concealed the smirk that very much wanted to creep across his lips. He knew that Celty did not mean that. What she wanted to check was that he was not behind this; and what better way to do that than have him aid in rescuing her? After all, why kidnap a person if you're going to rescue them in the end?

But unfortunately for her, Izaya is a person who would do _just_ that.

"Fine, fine~" Izaya said with a shrug, throwing his hands up. "I'll help you only because you did a good job as my courier." He threw a venomous smile at Shizuo who returned it with an equally intense glare.

"The hell I am working with this bastard!"

[Shizuo, now's not the time!]

The man twitched, a vein popping out against the skin of his forehead. "Tch. Fine."

"Then, Shizu-chan…," Izaya addressed his adversary with a sickeningly sweet grin, "I will need the details of the scene."

In reality, he didn't need it. But the show much go on, all for the sake of the grand finale.

_~"Ask questions, then feel the answer."~_

Kumiko peeled her eyes open groggily, unable to remember anything other than absolute darkness.

What the hell did she do? She felt like a truck ran over her; an incessant pounding trolled away in her head and her throat was parched in addition to her eyelids feeling like bricks.

Feeling a yawn coming up, she went to reach up a hand to cover her mouth; only to find that she couldn't. Eyes widening in alarm, the yawn completely forgotten, she looked down to find her arms bounded to her body with rope.

"The fuc-?" She cursed in reaction, only then noticing that her legs too are bound with rope.

It all suddenly rushed back to her, the memories of what occurred: the black car, the feeling of being pulled and finally the gas.

Holy fuck, she was kidnapped?

The effects were instantaneous: her breathing shortened and her senses became hyperaware, eyes glancing around madly in search of a clue. Panic crushed her heart, sending it in a frenzied beat that whipped blood rushing all over her body. Droplets of sweat began dribbling down her neck and back, but they were hot against the cold terror that seeped into her.

W-What? W-Who? Why?

She had always played it safe, w-why would someone kidnap her? Was it because she looked like easy bait? Did she accidentally make someone angry? It…it didn't make sense!

_Clack, clack._

Footsteps.

Kumiko froze in terror, wide eyes glancing to the doorway that led into the room she was laid in.

"I don't get why we are doing this."

"It is the boss's order. We should not question it."

"Even so, this is ridiculous. She's just a girl! And we're not even allowed to do anything to her too…it's been a long time since I spent any time with a woman."

"Heh. Maybe the boss is saving her for himself?"

"I don't think that is the case. Boss doesn't seem to be the lolicon type."

"No, he doesn't. Anyways, orders are orders. Besides, nothing can happen to us. Even the damned police are afraid of us yakuza."

Oh bloody shit…the _yakuza_? In her mindless shock, she squeaked. Fortunately for her, the yakuza men did not hear. The last thing she wanted was for them to know that she's awake.

"Yea. I don't think anyone would care if this girl disappeared anyway. There are much better fish out there."

_Clack, clack._

The footsteps went away.

The room she had been left in was bare, with majority of the ceiling and walls already rotting away to the effects of time. The air was dank and musty, pervasive with dust that irritated her nose. What little light that filtered in was from the slivers of moonlight that managed to sneak pass the window grills.

It seemed to be an abandon building of sorts.

Kumiko tested her bounds, but found that they did not give way. Letting out a muffled cry of frustration and despair, she allowed her head to slump lifelessly to the floor.

She's as good as dead.

She was such a pathetic creature, all talk and no actions. She desired difference to her life, and she got it in so many different forms. But always, in the end, she is still reduced to being the useless and normal girl that she is.

She had no super powers like Shizuo to get out of this. She did not have the genius that Izaya possessed. She didn't have the positive outlook of Kida to fight through any obstacles. She did not possess the quiet stealth of Kururi and Anri. She did not possess the sparks of perception of Shinra and Mikado. She did not have the martial capabilities of Mairu…

She is just Ishimaru Kumiko; a girl from a small, unimportant town who leads an equally unimportant life.

She should try to escape. She might be able to cut her bonds against one of the sharp rocks that once belonged to the yielding walls.

But…what was the point?

Those men were still out there. She'll never make it out of this compound unscathed and alive.

Her drooping lids served as a heavy reminder of her weakness, unable to even resist the lingering effects of the sleeping gas.

And she felt so sorry: sorry for herself, sorry for Aya and sorry for her parents.

She was sorry for being such a waste of space and life.

_~"Learn to trust your heart."~_

Celty raced down the roads at an ungodly speed, her mythical bike not even faltering under the added weight of both her and Shizuo.

They attained the information they needed from Izaya and had left him behind at his apartment. Though for some reason, Shizuo could _still_ smell that fishy reek that pervaded Shinjuku and Izaya's apartment compound. It irritated him to no end. The flea wasn't even here, so why the hell does the whole place stink?

Celty focused her attention on getting the two of them to their destination as fast as possible, attempting to ignore Shizuo's occasional growls and snarls of annoyance and mutterings of "flea" and "kill, kill, kill, kill…"

She sighed in her heart. She pitied the men that were about to face his wrath.

More importantly, she wanted to know why Kumiko was even taken in the first place. The yakuza's were infamous for their public battles and crimes. Kidnaps were of course one of them. Girls were frequently targeted to serve as their sex slaves in the many brothels they own, seeing as prostitution was one of their major sources of income. And young schoolgirls were one of the prime targets. But even so, they usually targeted foreign girls. Rarely did they aim for the local people…but it wasn't out of question either.

In light of that, did Izaya really have nothing to do with it then?

She could hardly believe the informant's words on its own, but she had no other evidence to say otherwise either. Not only that, he did give them the information about the Hakuryu-gumi's hideouts and the most likely place they were going to contain their prisoner. Celty did not question where he got his information, for he was good at what he does. Shizuo on the other hand, was full of suspicions, obviously. But this is all the lead they have.

They skidded to a stop a distance away from an abandoned building that was located on the outskirts of town. It was cornered in on either side by various warehouses. According to Izaya, it used to be an old factory lot, and the building was their commanding head for the factory operations. But a fire broke out there a long time ago, which now leaves the place abandoned.

That also meant a fundamentally weakened structure.

Celty glanced back at Shizuo. [We have to be careful here. I don't think the place can hold too much pressure.]

Shizuo frowned but nodded reluctantly. "I'll just beat the shit out of them and leave the building alone!"

[…...]

* * *

Kumiko was startled awake from her light and uncomfortable sleep, the effects of the gas still having a hold over her. She casted frightened eyes about, wondering what the sounds were. People were shouting and there were loud sounds of crashes. What were they doing?

She gulped and squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to force the weariness and sleep from her. Now was not the time to sleep!

Now was the time to…

To escape?

Her eyes darkened in disappointment at herself. She looked down at the grainy floor in shame.

Tears pricked at her eyes, and she screwed them shut again, feeling the trails of water run down her cheeks. She's scared but…she did not know what to do!

She does not know what she _**should**_ do.

Escape? Hah, as if she can with her binds and the people lurking in this place.

If Shizuo was in her place, he would have broken apart the bonds and fought the men that took him. He would not have gone down so easily like her.

Kumiko's eyes opened blearily at the thought of the golden-haired man, her doe eyes saddening. If there was one thing she regretted, it was the way she departed earlier that night.

Shizuo must have noticed the way she looked at him. He might be blunt, but he was not dense.

He must have seen the fear in her.

Fear of him-…no….fear of the feelings she felt _**for**_ him.

They were so wrong and yet, she could not deny them. They had simmered and rippled under the surface for a period of time now, and she was perhaps subconsciously aware of them but chose to ignore their presence; chose to ignore them until they grew until their existence could no longer be denied….

…because she was a coward who suffered from social anxiety; someone who feared rejection and being made a fool of, especially when she did not have people like Aya at her side, who could put her at ease, acting as her barrier that repelled all anxiety.

So the only way she sustained herself in this massive city was through enforcing her beliefs that no one liked her. If she believed that, if she truly believed that, she did not need to get close to people and she would not get hurt, embarrassed.

That was what she tried.

But it was a failure of an attempt, for she could not resist the glamour of the city's people, the intensity of life they offered…It was what drew her to attend Raira in the first place. She just had not been prepared for it, for any of it: The absolute way Shizuo lived his life. The indisputable pride Izaya held himself. The confident road Celty walked with Shinra. The certainty of Mikado's friendship with Anri and Kida.

She never experienced things like this before. There never was the opportunity to even witness such things in her tiny town, not even with Aya.

And there must be so much more for her to experience, to see and to explore.

Like the stirrings of something within her for that golden-haired man.

And what of Izaya? He remained an enigma still, one that truly piqued her curiosity despite his obvious sociopathic ways. Had she remained back in her hometown, she would never have met a man like that. Everyone was always clean cut and clear there.

But not here. Not in Tokyo. Never in Ikebukuro.

There was always something new around the corner. She just never had the courage to look.

Biting her lips, Kumiko lifted her head with a new sense of determination. Scanning her immediate area, she picked out a relatively sharp piece of rubble before rolling her body over to it. Lifting her legs, she proceeded to cut the bonds that held her.

_This is going to be hard…_

But it is the least she could do against such odds.

An alarm went off somewhere in the building, it's sirens blaring loudly. The sound pierced her hearing.

_What the hell is going on out there?_

Brows slanting down, she vigorously rubbed her bonds against the rubble, feeling parts of her skin becoming irritated and sore from the act. It was bound to start peeling too.

Gunshots rang out in the air outside the compound. Her head whipped up and around, heart beating rapidly against her chest from adrenaline, anxiety and worry. Did the police arrive to her rescue? Or did the yakuza break out in an internal argument?

Whatever the case, she had to get out of here, or at least try to. She did not even know what was going on or why she was even here! Her skin turned an angry red from the rash rubbing that was tormenting it, and a stinging pain registered in her nerves. She sucked her lips in and hissed.

_Life really sucked!_

In the back of her mind, her conscience wryly commented that she did ask for change and excitement…but she locked it away, opting to argue with it on another day at another time.

Right now, she had to focus her mind on not chickening out and go all the way through with her escape.

She had to try at least, if not for herself, then her parents who gave her life.

* * *

They had tried to sneak into the compound without being detected.

Keyword: tried.

They encountered a two man team when rounding the corner of one of the many storage buildings, and though Celty silently took out one of them with her scythe, Shizuo had sent the other flying into the storage building, bringing down the metal door and part of the wall with the man.

Apparently, he forgot to control his strength…

Though the compound was not heavily guarded, there are still quite a number of them for two people. Not only that, they were armed with guns. Shizuo had cursed to the high heavens that the flea did not inform them of this.

But Celty thought they should have been prepared for that. The yakuza's dealings were not unknown to the public and it was common knowledge that they dealt with guns.

And Celty found it strange that they would be so heavily armed just for a one-person kidnap…

It was strange and unsettling.

It wasn't normal, nor was it right.

Why would the yakuza do this for a girl like Kumiko? She'd understand if they were kidnapping multiple girls to be brought into the sex and slave trade, but that doesn't seem to be the case either.

Tightening her grip on her scythe, Celty decided to ponder about this later and focus on getting Kumiko out first.

Gunshots rang out everywhere, and although the dullahan knew Shizuo was strong, she was still worried about him. In the end, he was still human….unlike her.

Shizuo had charged straight into the gunfire, wielding the metal door that he felled previously as a shield against the incoming bullets. It was crude, but it provided him with a form of protection. As soon as he got within range, he swung the door around like a bat, instantly incapacitating four men.

Celty did not possess the strength that Shizuo does, but she was swift and is able to nullify the bullets that came her way in shadows, rendering the guns useless against her. The yakuza men were shocked at her presence, and terror struck amongst them when they saw the inhuman abilities she possessed, alongside the inhuman strength Shizuo displayed.

But they were hardy men that swore full loyalty to their boss and family, and they pressed on in their defense and attacks.

"Monsters!"

Such words culminated amongst the yakuza men they faced.

And both Shizuo and Celty were used to it.

It is a sad part of their lives that is eternally engraved onto them.

Monster, demon, ogre, fiend, freak…

Shizuo gritted his teeth before releasing a terrifying roar of anger.

Even so…even if they were different, they were still beings capable of feelings! They were capable of hurt, anger, sadness, annoyance, love- everything that these hypocrites were capable of feeling!

What right did they have to call them as such?

Shizuo tore through the rows of men despite the bullet wounds he received. He grabbed one and threw him across the air. The unfortunate man met the wall of what seemed to be the main building of the compound, the crumbling concrete giving way underneath his weight and the force of Shizuo's throw.

Taking no joy in his accomplishment, Shizuo grabbed the gun of one of the yakuza cronies and broke it in half before fisting his hands onto the collar of the man.

"Where is she?" He all but snarled.

The man gulped under Shizuo's fierce glare but did not answer. Instead, he attempted to break out of his hold.

Shizuo's eyes only narrowed in annoyance. He was about to beat the answer out of him but a row of gunfire directed at him forced him to drop the man to dodge out of the way. The bullets missed their target, but managed to hit the gas tanks that were lined against the main building.

It exploded upon contact, and a raging fire emerged, instantly engulfing half the building. It continued to spread, and a few people unfortunate enough to be nearby the explosion was set on fire. Their screams pierced even the sounds of straying gunfire.

Shizuo squinted his eyes against the sudden light. Looking around, he spotted Celty who turned towards him as well.

A silent message passed between them.

They had to find Kumiko quickly, before the fire burned everything.

* * *

Kumiko's elation when she finally got her legs free was short lived when an immense heat penetrated the atmosphere.

Dread filled her when she saw the vermillion cascading across the air outside, and the smoke that quickly drifted into the room she was in through the window and through the open doorway. Two and two were put together quickly: Buildings and fires were never good.

Wincing, she ignored the pain in her legs that were now an angry red, sporting scratched and peeled skin. Rolling onto her stomach, she brought her knees in and pushed up with her shoulders. There was no time to get the bonds around her torso. She had to either flee with them or burn with them.

Staggering quickly towards the doorway, she peeked out warily before running as fast as she could with the bonds restraining her arms, thus restricting much of her balance.

The smoke was dense and it choked her. Kumiko hacked furiously as she tried to find her way out of the building, throat burning from all the dust that was invading her air path. Water shimmered in her eyes in reaction to the black clouds that congregated everywhere the further she moved.

Her vision was badly encumbered, so much that she did not even the steps ahead of her. Her foot hit air and she fell down the steps, screaming from the shock and pain as her body jerked all ways. Her back met the floor harshly and she wheezed from having the air knocked out of her.

She never felt this much pain before. It was excruciating.

Something wet rolled down her neck, and in her hazy and dazed mind, Kumiko hoped that it was tears, not blood.

"Ugh..." Her breathings came out short and raspy. With effort, she pushed herself back up, only to fall against the wall in dizziness. Her vision swirled, and she screwed her eyes shut, desperately trying to regain what sense of movement and direction she can, against all the pain and smoke that assaulted her.

If she lived through this…she was going to celebrate with an all-you-can eat buffet.

Stumbling forward, she used the wall as a support. It also allowed her to edge far away from the fires that burned her eyes with their bright flames, lest she stupidly trip into them.

She gasped, trying to see through the smoke. Kumiko no longer knew where she was headed. All she could think about was avoiding the fires, taking any path that wasn't blockaded by a wall of flames. The windows shattered from the heat of the flames, spraying glass that cut her skin. Fuck her life!

Breathing became harder and harder as the seconds passed into minutes. It felt like hours but it has only been minutes in reality.

She fell against the wall in a corridor, hunching into a feeble position. She can't do anything with these bonds, she can't see with the smoke, and she can't get anywhere with the fire…

She's a goner.

Her eyes closed wearily, and she found reprieve and rest from the invasive smoke.

At least…at least she tried.

The sounds of something crunching caused her to reopen her eyes tiredly. Lifting her head slightly, she saw familiar black shoes making their way towards her.

She knew those shoes…

_Who…?_

Bringing her eyes up further with effort, her gaze ran over equally familiar black pants.

_Why…_

A hand fell against her forehead, and the touch of another human comforted her. That hand pushed her head up to meet glowing crimson eyes.

"I-Iza..ya…-san…"

_Why is he here?_

"You look like you need help, babysitter-chan~" Her unexpected savior said mirthfully. But Kumiko could not find anything funny about this.

"W-Why…are y-you…" She tried to speak but coughed. She had breathed in too much of the smoke.

Izaya sliced her bonds loose with his knife, and blood instantly circulated back around her torso, relieving much of the tension she felt.

"T-Than-"

"Don't thank me yet. We're still in a burning building with lots of smoke clouding our vision and there's still a chance we'll get burnt like barbecue~" He said it so casually Kumiko almost believed he was talking about the weather.

She felt herself being lifted, but a bad case of vertigo assailed her. Her head rolled dizzily and the pounding in her ears multiplied exponentially.

She felt really sick.

"If you puke on me, you'll be paying for my new set of clothes with the money you earned from my mother. And that's a really pitiful way to lose your hard earned money, don't you think~?"

* * *

The unmistakable sounds of police sirens blaring in the short distance ahead caught Shizuo's and Celty's attention. Who called the police?

Shizuo looked over to Celty who shook her head and his jaws clenched. The only other people who knew they were here are Shinra and…Izaya.

Celty visibly tensed as the police cars got closer, and she was torn between the decision to leave the area immediately or proceed with their search for Kumiko. Shizuo was also well aware of Celty's fear of the police since the chase incident.

"Celty, you go on ahead and leave. I'll stay here and look for Kumiko and deal with the police."

The dullahan made a gesture to protest but Shizuo only offered a small smile to his friend. He swung out his arm with two fingers lifted. "You go on ahead; I'll deal with things here."

[…..] Celty tilted her head, slightly perturbed, but nodded.

Shizuo gave a small laugh as Celty's bike came towards her and she turned towards him. "I've never had the chance to say something like that for awhile now."

The slight shaking of Celty's shoulders told Shizuo she was laughing. She remembered well the time when they chased down the girl Harima Mika and encountered her overzealous boyfriend at the same time.

With a nod of farewell, Celty swerved her bike around and left the area as quick as shadows disappeared under day. Just as soon as she got out of sight, the police cars turned onto the compound with a fire truck in tow.

Without waiting any longer, Shizuo quickly ran in search of Kumiko, heading straight towards the burning building. He will deal with the police later.

And he hoped against all hope that she was not in that brightly blazing building.

His nose wrinkled in disgust as the scent of smoke assaulted him the closer he got. And though Shizuo himself thought it was due to the smoke, his guts clenched instinctively in the way it would when Izaya was around.

* * *

An unfamiliar ceiling met her eyes when she opened them, and she casted her gaze about to find herself in an equally unfamiliar room. The bed that she was laid on was soft and lush with its white sheets. But it did nothing to ease the pain that lurked on every part of her body, and the especially sharp pain at the back of her head.

With a hiss, she lifted a bandaged arm to the back of her head, feeling bandages wrapped around it as well. Both her arms and legs were bandaged, especially her legs which were all wounded up in white gauzes. She could also feel some sort of ointment placed on them from underneath the layers of gauzes.

"Oh…you're awake."

With a surprised gasp, Kumiko's head whipped over towards the doorway where a lady with long black hair stood. Her face was pretty much emotionless, and she hardly seemed to care that Kumiko was even awake…

"Hey, you, your little girl toy is awake." She spoke to someone from beyond the doorway. But Kumiko could not see from where she lay.

"It's impolite to refer to people as such, Namie-san~" Izaya's distinctive voice echoed back and Kumiko's eyes widened.

She remembered now. Izaya got her out of that place!

"I don't want to hear that from you of all people." The woman called Namie retorted back stoically. Her tone was bland but icy and Kumiko's nerves twitched in her presence. She…did not like this woman. She was so…blank, void of any displays of life or emotions.

Izaya, who had since appeared in the doorway to the bedroom and noticed the look on Kumiko's face, smirked in amusement. Strange how the girl works. She was fine with a blade wielding troll such as him and yet she dislikes the icy queen that was Namie.

Between him and Namie, she was safer with the latter who may only potentially have her kidnapped to be used in her nefarious experiments. While him on the other hand…

"You have extremely rotten luck, babysitter-chan." Izaya said as he walked into the room. The girl jerked from her momentary stupor, finally noticing his presence.

"I-Izaya-san! I…w-what happened?"

"Who knows~? You were kidnapped by the yakuza, and I got you out before that building could have you." He answered with a smile, sitting down beside her on the edge of the bed.

He watched as her gaze casted down, hands trembling in what seems to be confusion and fear.

"I…I don't understand. W-Why did the y-yakuza," she gulped at the word, "even k-kidnap me?"

Izaya leaned back on his arms, legs swinging out back and forth like a child on a swing. "Maybe because you looked like an easy target. The yakuza are infamous for their kidnappings of young girls to be used in their sex slave trade~" He said this so easily that it had Kumiko staring at him in slight awe and apprehension. They were dark topics which she tried to avoid, and he speaks of them as if he was commenting on the taste of sushi.

And yet, it was this sort of easy and cool way of speech that easily earned Izaya the trust of many of his unwary victims. Pathological lying, so the shrinks called it; but Izaya believed otherwise, that it was an innate talent he had fostered since young.

Kumiko was no different to many of his previous victims. What he said made sense, and she did not question the validity of his remark.

In her eyes right now, Izaya had saved her.

"B-But how did you k-know I was kidnapped, and where I was h-held?"

He lifted a finger and wagged it in her face. "I'm an information broker, and the yakuza happens to be one of my biggest customers."

And then it all made sense and clicked in her head.

It doused Izaya in a whole new light in her eyes. No longer was he the mysterious man with crimson eyes that bespoke of danger.

He is her savior, just like Shizuo.

Izaya turned his head away and pretended to pick at the wayward strings of the blanket. It served to turn the back of his head towards the girl, hiding the twisted grin that he could not suppress.

This is almost too easy.

She's making it too easy for him now. And just for a little bit, Izaya lost a bit of the entertainment he garnered from her.

But whatever. It did not matter because what mattered in the end is that he hurts Shizuo as badly as he can; whether physical or mental.

"Ah, Kumiko-chan," he began, wiping off the grin he had initially and replacing it with a concerned smile, " Although I might have saved you, it is best if you did not let Shizu-chan know of this."

Kumiko's eyes widened in surprise at the request and she could not help but question his intentions.

"You know how Shizu-chan and I do not get along," Izaya's words came out strained as just the thought of that uncivilized barbarian tested his patience, "and even if I did save you, Shizu-chan might take things the wrong way, especially since he was at the crime scene as well."

Kumiko frowned, doubting that Shizuo could be that callous and unreasonable. But she owed Izaya her life nonetheless, and if that is what he wishes, she could grant him this small favor. She really didn't think baked confectioneries will work the same way with Izaya as it did with Shizuo.

"Just tell him whenever you see him that the police got you out of the place, since I called them in to help as well~"

"O-Okay…" And then it registered in her head what he said. "S-Shizuo-san was there as w-well?"

Oh man. She caused so much trouble.

Izaya nodded, eyes closed in a smile that hid the bitterness in them. "Shizu-chan and Celty both came to me for information about your kidnap as well." He shrugged carelessly. "I got to you before them though."

"I s-see…"

A palm was dropped onto the top of her head, and she looked up to meet dark eyes that were dyed a deep vermillion under slivers of light that entered through the curtains. Fingers gently massaged her scalp. "Remember, don't let Shizu-chan know….and it is best if you don't let Celty know too. She might tell Shizu-chan since they are so close~"

"….Alright."

What right did she have to object and to judge him?

He is her savior.

Just like Shizuo who has been judged by her, by Ikebukuro, and by most of Tokyo. And the golden haired man turned out so different from what everyone thought him to be.

Who is she to say Izaya is different?

* * *

"Damn that Izaya!"

A chair was smashed into pieces against the wall, having been kicked by a livid Kuroha.

The man was absolutely furious. Angry enough to perhaps rival Shizuo himself.

He had just received news of what happened at the abandoned compound. Most of his men were injured, and several were arrested by the police. One was burned to death in a building that caught fire.

That damned information broker from Shinjuku guaranteed him that no one would be hurt and the favor would go through seamlessly. He just had to hold the girl hostage for a couple of days!

And not even several hours have passed before two _monsters_ arrived onto the scene followed by the police!

The little rat said that the girl is a nobody! How can a nobody attract two otherworldly _things_ to her rescue? Heiwajima Shizuo _and_ the Black Rider.

"Kuroha-san…the boss wants to see you now." One of the younger members called quietly from where he entered the room.

Kuroha gritted his teeth and frowned, nodding towards the boy who respectfully straightened up as he held the door open for the man.

The way to his boss's room was short but long. The minutes felt like hours in his eyes, for he knew what was coming up next.

Pushing open the door that led into the private room at the back of the club, Kuroha entered, catching sight of the Hakuryu-gumi's leader sitting up ahead on a lush red leather sofa, surrounded by several scantily clad women.

Quietly and without hesitation, he bowed low to his boss.

The man was casted in shadows, his face only briefly illuminated by his lit cigar. Waving a hand, he gestured to one of the suited men beside him to step forward with the items.

A length of white string and a relatively large knife was presented to Kuroha who looked at the items with a cold and stoic face.

Smoothly and swiftly, Kuroha took the items, before proceeding to tie the white string on his left ring finger.

Where his left pinky should be is empty air.

Tightening the knot by pulling on his teeth, Kuroha kneeled and placed his hand on the ground.

He closed his eyes for an infinitesimal second…

And just as quickly, his eyes flashed open and he brought the knife up with his right hand, bringing it down onto the string mark in one fell swoop.

Silently, he produced a silk handkerchief and wrapped the severed part in it, before standing and presenting it to his boss with a bow. Seconds passed slowly, before the boss nodded and the same man who brought forth the string and knife took the wrapped finger from Kuroha.

Blood fell in an ominous _drip_, _drip_, _drip_ to the floor.

He didn't know about the Black Rider, but Orihara Izaya and Heiwajima Shizuo will pay for the loss of his finger.

* * *

**Read and Review, not Read and Run, please~**

**…I hate this chapter =( *goes and work on Psychedelic Dreams after this instead* It just wouldn't come out the way I wanted it…sigh. Typing up action is more boring than I thought orz**

**And don't worry guys! Kumiko will grow a backbone down the line at some point! I plan for this story to be relatively long, so that all the characters are given enough time to grow =D So…yea. Kumiko might still be the lousy worm she is for quite a few more chapters; looking at the timeline I have….I think I should speed it up x.x And this story really does have some ways more to go…I mean, so far I am only expanding on Shizuo and Kumiko's relationship. There is still IZAYA and KUMIKO'S relationship to do! XD So Izaya fans, worry not. The flea's turn will come. Soon. Later.**

**Psychotic Tendency- urrgh yes, my grammar. The bane of my existence (and I thought bittergourds are…) I just can't seem to fix it no matter how many of those grammar sites I go to DX Haaiz, regardless, thank you for reviewing once again! You always review without fail for each chapter I produce, and that is more than I can ask for! X3 *air tackle***

**Kitty1872- awww you flatter me too much, seriously! And…Sasuke is a Gary-Stu, I believe haha XD Mary Sue = Sailormoon, in my humble-ish opinion anyways XD And thank you! Happy to hear that the last chapter made you happy XD lets hope future chapters make you even happier XD thank you for reviewing again!**

**LooneyDooney- thank you so much for reviewing! And it's great to know that my updates make you happy XD**

**Last-blue-mage- XD with people like Shizuo and Izaya around, I will be surprised if things doesn't go out of whack XD And thank you for reviewing!**

**Spazm- *gives moment for Spazm to squee* That official stirring is bound to happen at one point; what else is this story for? XD hurrhurr who knows if the twins will ever get to see their 'help' being put into place~ It all depends on how the story rolls XD And Psychedelic Dreams is cause for more of a headache than this, I think XD Three Shizuo's…the thought of it is just xwx awww! And that is a very sweet thing to say, and this is one of the first times someone thanked me for writing! *bear hug* It made me all sweet and squishy inside! Thank youuu!**

**Shinkei Kajuen- ahahaha best for you I guess, but not the best out there XD but thank you for that nonetheless! *huggg* And it's alright XD I can understand what you're saying haha And whats there to be happy about if I am like Kumiko? DX That means…I have no friends! *forever alone* Thank you again for reviewing constantly! *air glomp***

**Too Lazy to Log In- XD awww thank you! I am glad you found this story then, since it earned me a review XD and it's alright if you aren't good at reviewing =D just write out anything you want to say about the story! I mean, even sometimes I feel I am not good at writing but I continue writing anyways instead of giving up and stopping XD Just keep the juices flowing ahaha Thank you so much for your review though!**

**Another Nameless person- XXD two unnamed reviews haha I have to recycle the title XD And please do get some sleep! This story isnt worth the loss of it x.x but I am happy to hear you like it enough to sacrifice sleep for it XD And thank you for your vow haha I look forward to seeing your reviews! XD …though it will make things a bit easy for me if I can identify you with a name haha so I know who my gracious reviewer is XD legasp! An anonymous hero! XD ….okay, gonna shut up now.**

**Musicforthedeaf- oh wow, interesting name XD Puts…"Ren Estera" to shame orz (is extremely uncreative with names) And no worries. I love long reviews since there are relatively more short reviews than long XD And long gives me more to talk about too! Ahaha And yes, Kumiko getting rescued…it is kinda needed for her backbone to grow…orz And the changes will come soon (ahaha so many readers demanding I make Kumiko stand up to Izaya now and not later XD ). But for plot purposes, I can't do that right now…OTL But! Kumiko will grow stronger in the future! Even I get angry typing up a spineless all the time so… XD And it is a love-triangle-ish (cause Izaya likes to stick out) but so far, things have only been expanded between Shizuo and Kumiko XD There is still Izaya to do ahaha And thank you so much for your faaab review~! Reviews are great, but reviews that tell me more about the story and what is liked, not liked etc like yours did just make my day! *super air glomp tackle* Thank you again!**

**Nameless- due to the lack of a name…I have to call you nameless. But thank you for reviewing and I am glad you enjoy the story X3**

**Kurowona- Thank you! I hope things do pick up soon from now, since it has been really slow. I wanna get to the coughsecretcough arc I have planned! XD**

**DRRRFan- Thank you! I am glad to hear that everyone's characterization is to your liking =D hopefully I can keep it up XD**

**FangirlofAnime- ahaha thank youuu~! Glad you liked how the characters turned out! Thank you so much for reviewing!**

**Ladygagafan- Oh…wow. A Gaga fan in a DRRR story XD ahaha suddenly makes me wanna name a chapter as "Bad Romance"…hmmm plot bunny! XD**

**Shizuofangirl01- thank yoouu XD I am glad you love it XXD and thank you for reviewing too! *air glomp***

**Izaya Fan- ahaha An Izaya fan in what seems to be a mostly Shizuo Fans story XD but thank you! I am really glad you liked it, especially considering the fact that Izaya's turn isnt up yet…**

**Khael- duurrrr, of course XD It's needed since teasing is part of the 101 things in clichéd romance settings XD I kid…I don't want Fairyride's romance to be clichéd…but teasing, yes. It's good for humor XD thank you for reviewing again! *huug***

**Arik – ahaha have fun at anime expo! I wish I can go but…too far away XD Buy lots of DRRR stuffs! XD And it's Izaya; he's a troll- he causes trouble for fun XD Thank you for reviewing again too~!**

**Some Anon- I laughed at your name XD But yea, I skip reader stories like that too, just cause that it seems so…unrealistic x.x but most people nevr complain about it either, and the only explanation I can give for that is because it is THE reader, and thus…us XD ahaha I dunnoe; I speculate too much haha And I hope I write Fairyride all the way to the end too…the story is moving so slooow. Nonetheless, thank you for reviewing!**

**Nattie- omg XD I wouldn't have been able to read my story in one go…it's so long-winded and slow DX but I am happy to know you found it enjoyable enough to warrant a one-go read XD thank you so much for reviewing too!**

**AxM – ahaha thank youuu! I'm glad you find Kumiko not annoying XD I am constantly worried that her character might bug people, but I am really thrilled to know that people are taking a liking to her (for reasons even I can't understand ahaha )Thank you for reviewing!**

**PaperNinja- aww thank you! I'm glad you found my story worth reading even though you do not particularly like OC stories! And thank you for reviewing! *hug***


	17. Border Moth

**Author's Note: To all potential flamers reading Fairyride and Psychedelic Dreams…if you wish to flame, please at least have the courage and courtesy (oh wait, you don't have this I think…) to leave a SIGNED IN review so that you will at least have the marginal chance to be taken seriously rather than as a spineless whining coward :] If not, well, you're just helping me push review count up. **

**Thank you~!**

* * *

_~Fairyride~_

"_The key is to get to know people and trust them to be who they are; instead, we trust people to be who we want them to be- and if they are not, we cry."_

_~Unknown_

The cold air-conditioned room glowed under the hot afternoon sun filtering in from the window panes, offering warmth to Kumiko's skin which chilled under the steady breeze of the air conditioner. She was a guest in this apartment, and thus could not find the courage to voice her complaint of the freezing temperature of the room.

She picked awkwardly at the bandages wrapped around her legs, peering at Izaya who sat at his desk from the corner of her eyes. Namie was out for the moment, running groceries for Izaya…and Kumiko found it highly odd that a regal woman such as her was working for Izaya, of all people. But she dared not open her mouth to question them, especially with the blank, coal eyes Namie kept trained on her.

Due to her injury and limited mobility, Kumiko had been staying at Izaya's apartment for the past couple of days. Kumiko mentally grimaced at the injuries she's been getting recently…such as the sprained ankle when lost in the forest on Shinra's messed up trip. But missing school for so long burdened her mind, and so Izaya arranged to have a student from the school bring the homework to her here...the student was properly 'paid' to keep quiet about Kumiko's location and ties to the informant and was also held under the threat of immense pain. Missing the class lectures by the teachers hardly helped in the completion of her homework due to her lack of understanding and what little she had been able to get done without her textbooks were through the aid of Izaya and Namie…

Namie made a very cold teacher with her sharp tongue and Kumiko dreaded asking her for help constantly. But she was a very smart woman and knew the answer to all of her questions. On the other hand, Izaya helped her occasionally when he was free of work and completely bored. But he also quickly got bored of helping with her homework, finding them to be mundane and meaningless; he even went as far as to burn several pages of her assignment to prove his point.

The incident with the yakuza had been reported on the news a couple days back but it was reported as a police mission to clamp down on the yakuza numbers. No mention of her kidnap was mentioned…neither was there any mention of the involvement of Celty, Shizuo and Izaya.

Kumiko wondered if Izaya had anything to do with this. Perhaps he pulled some strings to make sure that information of them was not leaked? It seemed likely though she couldn't be sure as she did not have any solid knowledge of the things Izaya could do. The man was as elusive as shadows, unlike Shizuo who was as genuine as the sun.

She has also yet to contact Shizuo or Celty. Though she asked Izaya for permission to use his phone to at least notify them that she was alright, he forbade her from doing so with the explanation that it will most likely alert Celty and Shizuo to the fact that she is currently with him, which will send the barbarian down to his apartment, destroying everything.

"_You may see them once you are fine, babysitter-chan~ but for now, just stay still and be patient a little. A grown girl like you should have no problem with that, right?" _

That was what he said as a coy grin tugged at his lips.

Feeling bounded and obligated to him for saving her, and her promise to not tell Celty and Shizuo about her rescue by him, she obeyed. But she was getting restless, and is constantly plagued by worries of how Shizuo and Celty were faring.

Did they know she was safe? Were they safe? What happened to them since the incident? Not only that, was it really necessary to keep secret the fact that he saved her? Wouldn't that somehow put him on the good side of Shizuo and Celty, even a little?

She wasn't too clear on what occurred at the area, but Izaya had given her a basic breakdown of the occurrences. All she knew of was that Celty and Shizuo confronted Izaya, went to save her, police arrived on the scene, and Izaya brought her back to the apartment. Heading to the hospital might raise suspicion and bring in the local authorities to question her.

Luckily, Namie had knowledge on medical aid. A part of Kumiko felt glad about it for she would have definitely felt uncomfortable if Izaya had been the one to help dress her wounds, seeing as she had injuries all over her legs and part of her torso…last thing she wanted was for a man to undress her before she is married.

With a quiet sigh, Kumiko picked up a page of her homework and forced her mind to focus on it. Unbeknownst to her, Izaya had stopped staring at his computer screen and opted to study the sight of the girl sitting on the couch of his apartment room.

A maniacal grin masked with joy sat on his lips through the whole period of his study and musings.

Interesting.

He really did find it interesting, how quickly Shizuo took it upon himself to run to the girl's rescue.

He supposed the man did have a heart of gold in a twisted sense, breaking things and people in the name of justice whenever the opportunity rolled around in the form of denizens in distress.

But what he saw in Shizuo when the man confronted him that fateful night was different. And it was further shown, as he watched from his position on the building roofs, when the protozoa combated his way through the throngs of yakuza men at the compound.

Completely different.

He exuded a form of protectiveness over the girl that was rarely seen from the man. The last time he saw it was when it involved Celty, when the dullahan ran into some trouble.

And this thought made Izaya smile. It meant his plan was working and progressing at a good pace…well, since it is his plan anyways, of course it will work~ His plans hardly fell apart.

Shizuo had demonstrated fervor in the way he fought, a fervor which only shone when he aided those close to him and when fighting Izaya. It meant the topic at hand was greatly important to the golden-haired barbarian. Shizuo might have been hard for Izaya to predict, but after years of knowing that man, he had a small sense of the way his body language worked, though not his mind.

Which thus made it hard to pin down the man and get rid of him once and for all.

But with babysitter-chan, he can destroy Shizuo without laying a hand on him…only if he got everything right from the start.

Babysitter-chan's relationship to the protozoa is important.

**Highly** important.

Having examined babysitter-chan the past few days she stayed in his apartment, it was clear to him that things were already set into place on her side. She had grown a sort of admiration for the barbarian…no, she had begun to grow the seedlings of a love that has yet to sprout.

He could see it in her expressional eyes, all the feelings she held for that man.

A **crush**.

Izaya's stomach clenched in disgust. How could anyone even ever love that man? Even he, Orihara Izaya, who loves all human, could not find it in himself to love him.

And he wanted to know.

He wanted to know what she saw in the protozoan existence. Know thy enemy, after all- her insight might be helpful in the destruction of Heiwajima Shizuo.

Putting those vile thoughts of love for Shizuo aside, Izaya reveled quietly in the excitement of things to come. His fingers curled and uncurled on the desk as he resisted bursting out in full laughter that will most likely destabilize the fragile 'friendship' he had with the babysitter-chan…not that it would really matter in the long run anyways.

For her life…is short.

When things are fully set and confirmed by him, when he deemed everything to be sufficient and right, when he witnesses the strength of Kumiko's and Shizuo's relationship in the near future…and finds it…to be just right…

That is when her life will end.

A gleeful grin split across Izaya's face for a brief moment, before he wiped it off and replaced it with his typical smile of sunshine and deceit. Walking around his table, he moved to stand beside Kumiko, leaning against the side of the couch as he watched her with red eyes.

Maybe in some deep, dark, dusty and unknown corner of his steel heart, he pitied the girl.

She was just at the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong people and with the wrong attitude.

She might have grown up to be a fairly ordinary person leading a fairly boring and ordinary life and would only serve to add to the number of humans he so loved. But as that was not the case, she is slated to be taken out of his plethora of beloved humans early.

Such is life when he is God.

Kumiko felt Izaya standing right by her and a sense of cold seeped into her skin. Not really knowing what to say to him or do, she merely offered him a weak and nervous smile before turning back to her homework, albeit a little unsettled. It was hardly easy to do anything with someone staring at you so closely.

Then again, she should have been used to it by now since he did it quite often during her days here in his cold apartment room of empty spaces and mysteries hidden. He had told her early on and upfront that one of his favorite past times is to observe people…and that he is telling her now because he will be observing her often over the next couple of days of her recovery.

She thought it was weird that he would tell her he will be observing her, since one of the first things she learnt in science was that letting others know you are observing them will affect their behavior…but that wasn't really her problem so she did not give it much thought.

To be honest, she didn't really mind it. Most of the time, she didn't even know she was being watched unless he stood eerily close similar to now.

But she still could not help but question his constant peering.

"I-Izaya-san…is there something on m-my face?"

"I see vital organs if that's what you are talking about. But if you are being a bit more abstract, not that I see how you can, then I see a lonely girl with little to no friends, in search for meaning in her life and has the potential to be the poster girl for a clichéd and badly written shoujo manga." He said all of this with a straight up smile that left Kumiko staring at him with slacked jaws.

"Uh…"

Completely ignoring her confused and shocked gaze, Izaya leaped over her outstretched legs, settling himself onto the couch beside her with his legs crossed before him. Resting his hands on his lap, he obnoxiously stared down at the girl beside him, grin still plastered on his lips.

Kumiko resisted the urge to twitch, though her fingers did curl nervously. His eyes gleamed red under the filtered sun, and it unnerved her, how intense his gaze could be.

Moments passed in silence, where the only sounds heard were the awkward scratching of her pencil across her book.

It was Izaya who broke the silence with a question he once asked before, once upon a time.

"Tell me, babysitter-chan, what are your feelings for Shizu-chan?" A smile that did not reach his eyes tugged at his pale lips.

Surprised, Kumiko blinked, pencil lazily falling out of her fingers.

Déjà vu set across her.

It was several moments later before her eye blinked rapidly and averted elsewhere, avoiding the firm gaze Izaya held onto her. A streak of red flashed across her cheeks, and her heart beat changed momentarily.

Thoughts and memories of the golden haired man flushed into her mind, and a weird feeling coiled in her gut; one that wasn't altogether pleasant and yet, strangely exhilarating.

A feeling which she recognized to be something similar to what the Orihara twins must feel towards Hanejima Yuuhei…or rather, Heiwajima Kasuka.

A fluttering schoolgirl crush. One which she thought to be rather childish of her.

She bit her lip in resistance to the feeling.

"D-Didn't you ask me this before?" She vainly tried to steady her voice and calm her heart that thumped strangely.

"Hmm, but that was then and this is now~"

A pause where Kumiko fiddled with her pencil.

"He's…r-really kind."

Izaya had to hold back a scoff.

"Y-Yea…he's kind."

He raised a curious eyebrow. "Is that all?"

"W-Well, everyone has many things that are good and b-bad about them….Shizuo-san is no different."

He disagreed. Only Shizu-chan has every single thing about him to be bad.

Seeing the condescending doubt in his expression, Kumiko wanted to speak more, to somehow defend Shizuo who was seen in such a negative light by this man. But Izaya stretched his arms up in feigned lethargy, cutting off her words before they formed.

Ahhh- he was bored.

He wasn't all that interested in what she had to say in the first place. He just wanted to make her uncomfortable, and that was too easily done, for the question alone already succeeded in doing that.

Ah, he wished things would move along faster. But Shizu-chan was just too **slow**.

"Izaya-san…." She spoke up suddenly, brown eyes leaving the blotched pages of her school textbook and casting him a fleeting glance.

A lump caught in her throat momentarily. Would she be going too far in asking this question? It seemed to be a very sensitive topic to him…well, from what she can see anyways.

"W-Why do you hate Shizuo-san so much?"

A taut silence stretched between them in which Izaya did not do or say anything, merely looked at Kumiko with a smile that unsettled her.

Small beads of sweat rolled down the back of her neck. Did she...hit a really bad spot?

But she really wanted to know. Anything that was so terrible like the relationship between the two must have come from a great occurrence filled with wondrous tales and tragedies.

Suddenly, he leaned over, so close that she could feel his breath scuttling over her skin and his eyes burned under the hot sunlight. She felt the flash of metal rather than saw it, a prickling sensation crawling over the nape of her neck where he held his favored blade.

Nerves withering on the inside, Kumiko placed all her willpower into ensuring eye contact. She doubted Izaya would actually **kill** her…he had never killed before.

…right?

….right.

Besides, why kill her after all the trouble to save her?

Despite these self-assuring thoughts her blank mind conjured, she still could not help the alarms blaring in her head.

The information broker leant even closer, till there were only inches apart between them. A tilt and their noses would have touched, like adoring lovers in a park.

But it was far from that.

There was a sharp edge in his eyes that told her she did hit a sensitive nerve in Izaya who seemed carefree about almost everything.

Almost everything but Shizuo.

"Babysitter-chan, tell me why I should divulge information about that to you? Without a price, no less." His lips curled further into a smirk. "I am an information broker. What do you have to offer me that will meet the terms of trade?"

"I-It was j-just a question, Izaya-san. Y-You don't have to answer-"

"Ah-" The blade changed directions, travelling up her cheek instead. "Doubting and retreating are revolting qualities. If you are going to jaywalk across the road during a red-light, that moment's hesitation might cost you your life. If you have even a sliver of doubt, do not cross. But if you really want to get to the other side, run across without a moment's regard for hesitation or doubt."

He sounded as if he was lecturing a child, but there was something in his words that tugged at Kumiko's mind.

She breathed in softly, the scent of his cologne powering her senses. The blade laid flat on her cheek, holding her gaze in place against his.

"So tell me, babysitter-chan, do you really want to cross to the other side?"

The other side….

Just what was this other side he spoke of?

What lay there on this other side where he obviously resided?

Izaya spoke too often in riddles and obscure existential questions, which all too often confused her. But they piqued her interest, the girl from a tiny, boring town.

She was like a moth to the flame to his words.

But too close and she will in all likely hoods get burned. But too far and she'll….

She'll never get pass that line that separated normalcy and adventure.

* * *

"It's time to change your bandages."

Namie walked into the cold room with a first-aid kit wrapped in her arms. Cold eyes looked down at Kumiko who sat on the couch still. Izaya had long went back to his desktop to continue his work.

The man hardly spared them a glance as long fingers swiftly dashed across the keyboard.

"O-Okay."

Sitting up right, Kumiko watched as Namie took a seat beside her, unpacking the contents of the medical box.

Despite having spent the past few days in her presence at Izaya's office, Kumiko still could not ebb the chill that seeped into her being around Namie.

How can someone be so...blank?

Even if Izaya clearly exuded danger from every pore of his being, at least he showed some form of emotion- some form of life!

But Namie...she was just so cold. Even when insulting Izaya or crushing Kumiko's confidence with a sharp tongue, she displayed nothing but freezing contempt.

Slender fingers began removing the bandages around her arms. Her touch was icy but gentle, and Kumiko could not help but watch her with apprehensive awe.

Something must have happened to Namie that made her like this. A lost love, perhaps?

Is love even capable of causing so much damage to someone? She has seen many movies which depicted the damages love can cause, but the idea that real love can be like that is a concept that is foreign to her.

She did not realize she was staring, not until she noticed Namie's coal eyes staring back at her.

"What?"

Kumiko winced. "Uhh...s-sorry."

With a soft scoff, Namie went back to redressing her wounds. They were healing along well, and she could be rid of the bandages soon. Kumiko hoped that they would not scar though.

"They will not scar."

With a jolt of surprise, Kumiko looked up to Namie who did not meet her gaze. Instead, the beauty merely focused on bandaging her.

"I used a special ointment produced by my company previously to ensure that they do not scar."

"O-Oh...I, uhh...thank you." She smiled at Namie but the woman did not return it with any warmth.

Her smile faltered and she suddenly felt very stupid and inferior. With that, she did not try to initiate anymore conversation with Namie, merely letting the woman do her work.

As the last gauze was put into place across her ankle, Namie gestured for her to lift her shirt. Coloring a bright red, Kumiko sputtered. "S-Shouldnt we go into the room first?" She asked in a soft whisper at which Namie rose one smooth eyebrow.

"It makes no difference. Now lift it. He can't see your front from there."

Flushing an even angrier red, Kumiko hesitated before lifting up the front of her shirt with clammy hands. She really, really ,really did not feel comfortable about this. Namie usually bandaged her torso in the bedroom, but perhaps that was only because the other times when she had to redress the wounds, Kumiko had been in the bedroom. Now that they were out here in the living room, Namie did not feel like moving all the way to the bedroom just to redress the bandages on Izaya's playdoll.

She wasnt dedicated enough to the man to put so much effort into that. As it is, she also does all the cooking and cleaning for him.

As Namie peeled off the gauzes from around her, Kumiko resisted the urge to look behind to check if Izaya was looking. She didnt think the man was a pervert or anything, no. But she still did not feel comfortable at the idea of anyone of the opposite sex seeing so much of her skin. And she is clearly aware that her back is currently exposed.

With a shaky sigh, Kumiko looked down at her torso to see red lines running across them. They were now a faded pink compared to the blistering red they initially were. All of these cuts came from stray debris and glass that she fell against, and Kumiko regretted not being more graceful about her escape.

"As expected of Namie-san~ Your ointment does work really well."

With a shriek, Kumiko looked up to find Izaya leaning over the back of the couch with his arms resting across it. His gaze was not on Kumiko but on her torso where Namie's hands were currently applying more ointment to it.

Kumiko's hand trembled, torn between the decision to cover herself and rescue whatever modesty she had left or to not risk the annoyance and anger of Namie by interrupting her work, which she clearly did not enjoy.

Izaya noticed her mortified gaze and snickered. "You have nothing to hide, babysitter-chan. It's not as if there is much to hide anyways."

The embarrassed red on her neck and face quickly morphed into one of insult and anger at the insinuating implications of his words. With an angry bite on her lip, Kumiko looked away and tried to ignore his presence, chanting fervently in her head her favorite songs.

She might not have a bust like Namie or even Kururi - by the Gods, that girl is younger than her to boot- but she never believed herself to be **small**! Her size was alright for someone her age!

And she was wearing a bra still, a bra! That served to constrict chest sizes and movements which can be misleading to the real size!

Ugh! Why was she getting so worked up over the bust size anyways? It never bothered her before, so why should Izaya's words, of all people, bug her so much?

As if sensing what she was thinking, Izaya let a sly grin cross his lips as he leaned his cheek against the palm of his hand. I'm an information broker, and your bust size will be given to whoever requests information of you, you know. Sure you dont want me to doctor the information a bit?"

With a chagrined glare that hardly intimidated the man, Kumiko clenched her fists against the furls of her shirt.

He is so...infuriating sometimes! Is this why Shizuo dislikes him so much?

Izaya was hardly fazed by the anger bubbling up in Kumiko. It wasnt as if she could act out on her anger. She did not have the courage to do it. Not only that, he could easily decapitate her if he so wished...not that his love of humans will let him do that. Maybe he can get Namie to do it? Hmm, that's a thought, albeit a doubtful one. He'll have to think more on it later.

He wasn't here because he was particularly interested in learning medical abilities- he had Shinra to do that for him. Nor was it because he had any hormonal urges because Namie far surpassed Kumiko in beauty in every physical aspect.

He was just bored, really. That seemed to be the reason that fueled most of his actions as of late, as everything was progressing at such a slow rate.

And to satisfy this boredom, he just came over to make Kumiko flustered. Izaya knew well how easily flustered she became when it came to personal and private things such...say, undergarments.

He did not bother to hide his purposed gaze on the white brassiere that peeked out from underneath the shirt. Which only caused the girl to twitch in mortification and he had to laugh at the variety of horrified expressions overtaking her features. Messing with humans were fun, especially when they displayed a large facet of emotions.

They were even more fun if easily manipulated, like babysitter-chan here. Unpredictable as she can be at times, she was not on the level of Shizuo.

"I-Izaya-san...can you please **stop** l-looking?" She muttered quietly under her breath. Namie did not even pay attention to the discomfort Kumiko was experiencing, only continuing to wrap gauzes around her at her own pace which wasnt fast enough in Kumiko's opinion.

"Like I said, you have nothing to hide~"

"...I can no longer marry honestly."

Izaya momentarily paused at her words, before an amused smirk played his lips.

"Do you want to marry Shizu-chan?"

"W-What? No! I-I didnt s-say that!"

"Hmm, but you like Shizu-chan, don't you?"

"Ye-n-no! I m-mean, I like him but not like like!" She just had a small crush on him, she acknowledged that. What girl wouldn't fall for a man that helped her so many times? It happens all the time in fairytales and stories. "S-Stop messing with me, Izaya-san. It's r-rude."

Rude...Izaya scoffed.

If anyone was rude, it was Shizuo with his blatant destruction of public properties and uncontrollable anger. Shizu-chan was rude. Not him.

At that moment, Namie finally finished with her work and Kumiko quickly pulled her shirt back down, crossing her arms across her chest in a quick moment of shyness.

She could not believe that Orihara Izaya, would be the first man to see...her...stuffs. Well, not completely but still! Something like this is highly important to girls, just like how first kisses are.

She might be a social oddity, but that did not mean she was not a girl of only 17.

She had dreams of finding a boyfriend someday, had dreams of going on dates, hopes of finding someone to share her important moments with.

And Izaya destroyed one of them already with his blatant intrusion.

Kumiko casted him an annoyed glance that only intensified under his simpering grin.

He knew just what she was thinking, and it gave him the thought to take more of those important moments from her.

At least, it would satiate his boredom until Shizuo finally reached the finish line.

* * *

**Izaya! Y U SO HARD TO WRITE!**

**Sorry for the late and short update ~ I have been busy with tying up loose ends before leaving to Japan and also with my move to Japan- yes, that's right. I am now in Japan, staying in Ikebukuro area and going to school near in Shinjuku area :D **

**And no, I have yet to see any flying vending machines, but I will soon!**

**Sorry once again for short update. I will try to ensure that the next chapter is longer but everything is just too pika-pika here~! No review replies today as I am still pretty packed down by the move to Japan. Auuggh they cant make anything simple here OTL **


	18. Lethargy

_~Fairyride~_

_Lethargy breeds lethargy._

"_They are obviously going to ask questions, so hand this to your teacher."_

_She took the slip from him and stared at it with slight horror._

"_I…didn't actually go to a hospital though…"_

_He smiled. "It's forged~"_

The class stared on in quiet chatter as Kumiko stood before the teacher at the front of the class, as the man read over the slip of paper with his faded glasses; of course, said piece of paper is a forged replica of a hospital admission slip.

"Another hiking injury?" He raised sharp eyes framed by wrinkles towards her in a questioning gaze. "Didn't you sprain your ankle not too long ago too?"

"I…I l-love hiking?" Kumiko said with a hesitant shrug.

The aging man let out a sigh. "At least you got your homework done. Be sure to thank Yasuda-san for bringing your homework to you."

She nodded.

"And be more careful next time. It won't do if you keep missing classes, especially when this is your graduating year. And that goes for all of you too!"

The class responded with varying degrees of acknowledgement, groans and cheers whilst Kumiko quietly slinked back to her seat, pausing to give a short nod and thank you to Yasuda before setting herself down.

School ended as usual. She had encountered the trio of friends Mikado, Kida and Anri in the hallways during lunch as she returned to her classroom. They questioned her about her lack of attendance the past few days and she gave them the same excuse she gave the teachers. A hiking mishap, nothing more and nothing less.

Like all the other students and faculty, they accepted the reason easily, since after all, who would have thought awkward Kumiko was in the center of the yakuza filled burning building incident that has been reported non-stop recently?

Wandering around the streets of Ikebukuro in a daze, Kumiko wondered how she should pass the time when she remembered there was a park next to Sunshine City where a lot of cats, as well as homeless people, stayed.

She had not had much time to herself to spend amongst nature recently, and being in this concrete jungle certainly caused for a lack of areas with lots of good foliage and fauna. She headed over to the park, spotting a couple of old men dressed in haggardly clothes lounging around the park. One even slept across the bench like one would sleep on their bed.

Perhaps most people would be wary of these old men who obviously made the park their home, but Kumiko did not feel the same for she had seen them feeding the stray cats that wandered here. She didn't that a person that could be kind to other beings would have a bad soul.

She made one round around the small park, petting whatever cats that allowed her. Her mind came and went, the events of the past few days seemingly unreal as the cats purred around her legs. The capture by the yakuza should have been something that scarred her, but for some weird reason, it felt more like a dream than something that actually happened. Maybe it was time she went and got her head checked.

Absent mindedly, she scratched the chin of one white cat with blue eyes. Her own calmness perplexed and scared her. She felt like she did not know what she was supposed to do with herself any longer. Any meager energy and cheer that she previously had was gone, leaving nothing but lethargy and the desire to do nothing more than just fade away in her bed.

As she headed back to the park exit area about half an hour later, she noticed a familiar figure standing nearby a bench, staring at a black cat strangely.

"S-Shizuo-san…"

The blonde man looked up at the sound of his name, and when he spotted the girl, he just stared blankly at her for a long time.

And then…

Veins suddenly popped all over his forehead and he made straight for Kumiko, long legs carrying him towards her faster than she would have liked.

Kumiko gulped. "H-Hi, Shizuo-san…" She didn't like the way anger was radiating off him.

"Where the hell were you?!" He growled, obviously controlling himself to avoid scaring the girl off.

"I-"

"We searched for you!" He snapped, gaining a few stares from people.

Kumiko flinched. "I-I'm sorry. I w-was staying at I-Izaya-san's apartment and he didn't l-let me c-contact any of y-you-"

"You were staying with that bastard?!" His veins pulsed harder than ever. For the first time ever, Shizuo trained a very angry eye on Kumiko.

"H-He saved me!" Kumiko cried back, squeezing her eyes shut so that she would not have to see the angry lion before her.

"I-Is everything alright here?" A man asked the both of them, alternating between looking at Shizuo and Kumiko before stopping his eyes on Kumiko. "Is this man bothering you miss?"

Shizuo would have most certainly threw a bench at the man just because his temper was flying off the charts and now because the **nerve** of this man, thinking that he would actually harm a girl. Shizuo might have issues, but he did **not** hit girls.

"N-No! Everything is fine!" Kumiko quickly replied, before grabbing Shizuo's arm with a shaky hand. She pulled Shizuo to the back of the park where their only audience would be the cats that loitered around.

"What do you mean he saved you?" Shizuo gritted out.

"Those people…w-when they…" She gulped and tried to steady her heart, chanting to herself mentally that Shizuo will not harm her. She trusted him. Trusted him not to despite his hate for Izaya. "…kidnapped me, Izaya-san saved m-me."

When Shizuo did not say anything, Kumiko continued warily. "I was i-injured from t-that incident, s-so Izaya-san had this woman named N-Namie-san look after me till I w-was well e-enough." Her stutters started coming back in full force from all her nerves.

Shizuo could not believe what he was hearing. The flea saving her? He was most likely behind the kidnap in the first place!

"Why didn't you contact any of us?" He asked next. His fists clenched in his pockets.

"I-Izaya-san didn't a-allow me to…h-he took m-my phone away…" She muttered, eyes looking everywhere but at the man before her.

Shizuo remained silent, clenching and unclenching his fists within his pockets.

He closed his eyes, and Kumiko watched as his face strained with control and concentration. When he opened them again, his eyes were sharp and piercing.

"We searched for you." He said again. "Me and Celty."

Her heart clenched in guilt. She knew but...at Izaya's insistence, she had not contacted them during the period she was at his apartment. The man had saved her life and if that was what he wished for, who was she to deny him?

"I…I'm s-sorry…." She trailed off. That was all she could offer. There was nothing else.

"I watched you get taken away." Shizuo said. Kumiko thought there was something strange in the way his voice sounded.

"And then me and Celty tracked you down. We fought for you." Shizuo continued, his voice growing heavier with that thing that escaped Kumiko.

Kumiko felt a bead of sweat trail down her back, the lethal calm Shizuo now demonstrated being foreign to her the whole time she knew him.

"I continued looking even when the police came." Shizuo took a deep breath. "But I could not find you."

Kumiko wished that Shizuo would yell and break something. Pricks of guilt and hurt were starting to pick at her heart.

She didn't know what to say to this man to whom she owed so much.

She finally realized what was that laced his voice that grew heavier with each word, as if they were weights that piled on top of his heart one by one.

Guilt.

She finally looked at him, her round eyes quivering with transparency and realization.

Shizuo had felt guilt when he could not find her.

A painful breath invaded her throat, and Kumiko bit back a dry sob.

She regretted it now. She should have tried harder against Izaya, should have insisted she contacted her friends.

Her friends who had helped her so much. Her friends whom she so desperately wished for back then but conveniently forgot about their feelings when faced with the adventure she so desired. The friends she felt she now did not deserve.

Guilt enveloped her own heart.

* * *

Shizuo watched quietly as the girl before had a quiet bout of breakdown.

He hated it when women cried, for he never knew what to say to them.

He didn't know what he should say to her either even if she wasn't about to cry.

What was he supposed to feel right now?

He had felt so much guilt and worry during the time they lost all contact with her, that he almost entertained the thought that maybe she was…gone. He had been so, so , so, so destructive during those days that Tom finally told him to take a break for awhile.

He hadn't spoken to Tom about the event. The only people who knew were Celty, Shinra and Izaya.

Izaya, that bastard. And she was with him the whole time that he was raging down a path of guilt and shame?! He thought he had failed her, a girl who tried so hard to reach out to him, who he appreciated for her acceptance.

He thought he had failed her, that whatever befell her was his responsibility because he was there as they rushed off in a black car with her inside.

But all this time the rotten Flea had 'saved' her and she did not inform him about it?! A part of Shizuo defended her by telling his fuming mind that she did not know that he and Celty knew about her kidnap and tried to rescue her. In that case, a few days of lack of contact from a friend was a very natural occurrence. Friends can go months and years even without contacting each other.

But he still felt betrayed for reasons he could understand.

He blamed the flea. He blamed it all on the flea.

And with that thought, he concentrated all the anger he felt, and all that hurt and feelings of betrayal onto one single person: Izaya.

Shizuo who had been motionless during the war that raged on within his mind looked up when he felt something grab the sleeves of his shirt.

He looked down to see Kumiko had reached a feeble hand out and held onto his sleeves so tight that her knuckles turned white. She kept her gaze onto the ground below as she whispered out a soft question.

"C-Can you w-walk me home?"

Shizuo felt himself answer her rather than heard it.

He nodded in silence before tugging on her arm to bring her home.

He might have failed to bring her home when she was captured, but he would not fail this time.

A part of Shizuo thought that he should be feeling angrier than this but he couldn't be bothered. It was like all of his explosive energy just left him.

The two of them walked back in a lethargic silence which neither of them understood but could not find the will to break out of.

* * *

**Wow, it's been awhile since I updated this haha my move to Japan has caused a lot of changes in my lifestyle and writing fanfics did not manage to make it in until now, when I finally have a short period of break from university with nothing to do haha **

**I wonder if any of my readers are still here… . **

**But just a little update on what I am doing now- I moved to Japan, studying animations and graphics right now and moved between Ikebukuro and Shinjuku and now moved to another area completely haha but I attend school in Shinjuku. Met some quirky people and got into the Kol Mikaelson fandom haha **

**I spend most of my time studying, improving my skills and eating now haha I'm hoping to make more time for writing again from now on as well . **

**Hope you guys will help me get back into that with some reviews perhaps? :3**


	19. Out Of The Pan, Into The Fire

**Author's note: Maaan, it has been so long since I worked on this story haha the last chapter was quickly pushed out just to get my gears running again, and I have been greasing my cogwheels with my latest Kol Mikaelson story, Eastern Sun In The Western Sky. Do check it out if you have the time and love that sexy sociopathic vampire! XD **

**Now! This story is finally moving onto the Izaya Arc! Yay, rejoice, you Izaya fans out there! I know you're there, just slightly smothered by Shizuo fans haha **

**The review rate for this story has dropped significantly from the last chapter, and I blame myself and my sudden disappearance :S but I hope all my old readers will come back and review again, as well as the new ones :D As it always has been, reviews always made me update faster haha let's hope Japan does not swallow me up again! **

***choo choo* **

* * *

_~Fairyride~_

_"How 'bout a shot of truth in that denial cocktail."_

_~Jennifer Salaiz~_

The days following the evening he walked Kumiko back home, Shizuo had been on an emotional rampage.

He was more violent than usual when his anger broke out, he snapped faster than he normally did when handling stubborn customers with Tom and he smoked at a rate that will send his body packing into the grave sooner than Death intended to take him.

He did not understand what was going on with him, and it drove him mad.

"ARRRGH!" With a terrifying roar, he ripped the bench that was unfortunately placed beside him from its nailed position to the ground. The woman that had been sitting on it and nibbling away on her onigiri like a hamster screamed in shock and terror before quickly sliding off the bench and fleeing, onigiri discarded on the floor.

At her screaming retreating figure, Shizuo paused in his action of lifting the bench up, nostrils flared and desperately trying to rein in his emotions. Without a thought, he dropped the bench back onto the floor, walking away and ignoring the penetrating looks people in the area has been giving him.

Or at least, tried to.

One young man who was too relentless and inquisitive with his staring found a soda can flying straight into his face.

Every single thing rubbed him the wrong way. And it had nothing to do with Izaya!

Damn it all! Everything has to do with Izaya!

Even if Celty had dropped all investigations and suspicions against Izaya about his hand in the kidnapping, for the dullahan was more than overjoyed to find that Kumiko was safe, Shizuo could not and will not let it go that easily.

By coincidence or not, the glass protected television that previewed all the new movies currently on air from the nearby cinema played that new Disney song incessantly as he walked by, _"Let it go, let it go"_ drifting through the air and towards Shizuo's twitching ears.

With a snarl, Shizuo stuffed his hands into his pockets and quickly walked out of that area, resisting all urges to punch the television and the wide eyed characters on its screen.

Wide eyes that reminded him too much of Kumiko's.

He had confided in Tom about his thoughts and plight, but the man **also** advised him to _let it go_.

"Kumiko-chan is safe now, isn't she? That's all that should matter." Tom had advised him sagely, puffing on a cigarette.

But it wasn't that simple.

Shizuo, who despised complex things more than anyone, could not simply **let it go**.

Everything inside him told him that Izaya was behind it all, but the damned flea saved the girl.

And everyone saw that as a sign that Izaya was not involved.

Everyone but Shizuo.

Shizuo stopped in his steps, looking up to find with surprise and annoyance that he had unconsciously walked to Kumiko's home without his realizing it.

The tiny little room she stayed in had become very familiar to him over the months, recounting the countless times he brought her back home.

He clenched his fists, huffing and walking away again quickly.

He hasn't heard from her since the last time he walked her back from the park, and she hasn't continued bringing baked confectionaries to him.

Somewhere inside of him, he missed the warmth the confectionaries she gave to him brought to his hands as he lifted one out from the box. The aroma that reminded one of home and the sweetness that reflected the way she shyly and nervously handed them over to him.

Shizuo's eyes narrowed and his lips pulled back in an annoyed snarl.

He hated violence.

But whatever it was he was feeling was driving him to the point where he wants the whole of Ikebukuro to explode with him.

And this whole neighborhood fucking **reeks**.

* * *

Kumiko looked up from her textbook when she thought she heard a furious snarl of some sort outside her home.

Pondering on whether she should go check it out or not, she decided against it, figuring it was probably a dog or something.

Returning to her studies, she tried to take her mind off everything.

Off the yakuza and her kidnap, off Celty, off Shinra, off Izaya and off Shizuo…

Her kidnap experience has slapped her awake to the fact that the world Izaya, Shizuo , Celty and the others lived in was not for her.

She was not suited to such a fast paced and harsh world where the flip of a coin can change the game completely.

She was a simple countryside girl with the simple goal of becoming a renowned artist.

And she should simply stick to that and forget all else.

She had been ignoring her studies since her stupid, stupid, stupid infatuation with Shizuo and the other world Ikebukuro offered her and now her grades were failing.

She could not afford to fail if she wanted to study overseas.

She could not afford to meddle around with affairs that had nothing to do with her.

Her grip on her book tightened unconsciously, and something watered behind her eyes.

Swallowing hard, her eyes drifted to the unhanded box of confectioneries on her table. Beside that table, was a trashcan that was filled with similar boxes.

All unhanded to its original intended recipient.

She was nothing but a silly school girl with a dream whilst Shizuo was the strongest man in Ikebukuro and freaking bodyguard for a debt collector.

Even if they lived in the same city and had each other's phone numbers, they were a world apart.

She swallowed the lump in her throat.

Shizuo is not meant for her.

And she is not meant for Shizuo, even if her heart clenched.

The days after he walked her back, she had proceeded to avoiding him.

And during this time it became very clear to her that she had fallen for that golden-haired man, as silly as it was.

She hardly knew him yet she **knew** him.

She didn't know what his favorite color was or what was his favorite dish or knew about his dreams.

But she knew his person.

Most would know a person superficially first before actually getting to know what was within but leave it to her to do the exact opposite. A wry smile graced her lips.

Guess she wasn't _that_ normal after all.

Her phone rang, shocking her out of her thoughts. Rubbing the back of her hands across her eyes to rid whatever dabs of wetness that lingered there, she picked her phone up, stopping when a familiar name stared back at her.

Orihara Izaya.

She bit her lip, hesitating before dumping the phone onto her bed.

Izaya was one of the residents of the other side. She had no business with him either.

She had already properly thanked him for saving her, even buying fatty tuna for him with the money she earned from babysitting his sisters. And though she knew that saving her life could not possibly be measured with even a thousand packs of fatty tuna, she did not know what else she could do.

Hanging around that man and the rest of them is proving to be jeopardizing to her life and sanity.

"It's rude to ignore people's phone calls like that, babysitter-chan."

The voice by her ear and the breath ghosting over her cheeks elicited a scream from Kumiko.

With a jump, she whirled around to see Izaya standing behind her, red eyes gleaming from the shadow casted by the setting sun.

"I-Izaya-san?! What a-are you doing here?!" She asked, staring at him with incredulous eyes. "H-How did you get in?!"

He smirked, turning his body slightly to give her a view of her open window.

Her eyes rounded and bulged. The window, really?

"B-Breaking and entering into a person's home is against the law." She bit back, eyes squinting at him against the light of the red sun.

"I did not break anything when entering. I just entered." Izaya snickered back at her, walking around her tiny room and gazing around, poking and prodding at everything.

Kumiko watched him with furrowed brows, moving to close the window and making a mental note to keep it locked next time.

"What are you doing here, Izaya-san?" She asked finally, turning to find him examining her various sketchpads stacked on the table.

"Just seeing what my little sister's babysitter is up to." He answered back languidly, picking up one of the sketchpads and flipping through it.

Kumiko sighed and sat down on the edge of her bed. "You could have just m-messaged instead of breaking in…"

"Entered, babysitter-chan. Entered." He reiterated with a smirk, dropping her sketchpad back onto the table with a lazy flourish.

She did not reply, merely watched as Izaya continued playing with her belongings, his sharps eyes glancing over everything, as if they hid some sort of secret from him.

Not a moment later, he turned around and faced her, a bored look crossing his features.

"Your room is so dull, babysitter-chan."

Kumiko's lips turned down in a pout. "That's none of your business-"

She was cut short when Izaya suddenly leapt over the low table separating them, landing lithely like a cat before her. His eyes narrowed and he leaned down, a finger reaching out to push against her forehead.

Her breath hitched and she froze, wide eyes staring into Izaya's gleaming slits.

"But that's where you are wrong babysitter-chan. Everything about you _is_ my business~" He sang, leaning even closer, his finger pressing harshly against her.

Her breath stopped halfway up her throat, unmoving as she merely stared back at Izaya who held her gaze with his penetrating gaze that absorbs all that looked into it.

If a wind had just merely blown into her room and against her back, she would have tipped and the tips of their noses would have touched.

Where Shizuo had gentle slopes that softly graced his face, Izaya's were sharp; sharp eyes and chin and tapered cheeks.

His fine lips tilted upwards, and he leaned back sharply, eyes drifting to her table where the box of confectioneries she made (for Shizuo) was left.

Her breath returned to her and she let it out, shoulders deflating along with it. She gulped, not understanding what Izaya meant when he said that all her business had to do with him.

But she assumed that it was some sort of way of him expressing his abilities as an information broker with info on everything and everyone. Her brows furrowed, watching quietly as he ambled over to the table and picked up the box, opening it to gaze at its contents.

Izaya's brow quirked, eyes flickering to the garbage can where similar boxes were trashed.

Sweet little babysitter-chan, whatever the hell is she doing?

Was she trying to put a hole in his plans?

That certainly will not do.

"What's this?" He sang, removing one of the cupcakes from the box, eyes dancing with mirth and something dark as he turned to look at her. He knew what it was; it's those sickly things she always baked for the barbarian.

"Oh..t-that?" She mumbled, eyes drifting down and away from his gaze. "I m-made it in h-home e-economics class..." She trailed off, biting her bottom lip.

Izaya's lips pulled with something sinisterly gleeful. She's a terrible liar. Her stutters completely gave her away, not to mention her voice.

"Heeeh~ I'll eat them if you aren't~" He sang but popping one of the cupcakes into his mouth. Kumiko gaped at him. He didn't even wait for her permission…

Then again, it didn't really matter. She wasn't going to eat them. And she wasn't going to give them to Shizuo either…

She sighed.

Izaya chewed as he watched the girl slump in her gloom. His eyes narrowed at the sweetness in his mouth, reminded again about why he did not like sweets.

It just sickened him with their saccharine aroma and taste that stuck to your buds, reminding you of an innocence that no one has nor retains.

The cupcake went down his throat, leaving a trail of nefarious sweetness as they went.

Then a bitter taste arose in him, as his eyes narrowed even further when the girl merely sat on her bed, shoulder slumped and reminiscent of an empty shell, with the pearl and meat gone.

Well, this won't do for him.

His plan needed to proceed and babysitter here is going to jeopardize that if she does not get out of this slump that she found herself in. And he haphazard an accurate guess as to why.

This is why women irritated him.

They're so fickle and capricious with their thoughts and hearts.

But on the flip side, that's what makes them so fun to mess with.

Izaya smirked, walking over to Kumiko with two short steps, pausing before her.

Kumiko lifted her head a little, eyes coming to rest on Izaya's hands which were stuffed into his pockets. She imagined him caressing his flick blade within those depths.

He took out his hands and put his palm out in front of her.

With a furrow, her head tilted in confusion as she looked up at the information broker.

"Come on, babysitter-chan. We're gonna go eat sushi~" He said gleefully, a large and uncanny grin splaying across his lips.

She stared at him and then his hand.

"…w-what? Why?" She asked him dumbly. She wasn't hungry or anything…and Izaya was not the type of person to simply ask a person out to eat because it is 'fun' or just to 'hang out'.

Izaya smirked, watching the emotions swirl in her eyes. He silently applauded her. She was starting to get used to his side of Ikebukuro.

The old Kumiko would not have thought so much about an invite from him. She would have seen it simply as a person seeking a friend out to eat together like how normal friends usually would.

But the Kumiko in the dark emotional hole she dug herself into (and partly with Izaya's help) rose questions to a hand that would have seemed friendly and harmless to her past self.

Even if she did it unconsciously.

And she was right.

Izaya never did anything without reason. This was no friendly hand saying they should go eat delicious sushi together.

Izaya wiggled his fingers, pressing her to take his hand as he turned his head to fully gaze down at her.

Silence settled around them as did the stars and moon settled into the night sky, illuminating the world that was about to come to life in Tokyo.

The world of secrets, danger and adventure.

Kumiko wavered, her bottom lip registering pain in her brain from the pressure she was putting into it.

She already had one feet out of this world…Shizuo.

But her other feet was still inside, with Izaya.

Though her mind told her that it was the safer option, and to get the other feet out now before it was too late, her heart said otherwise.

Her heart was so tired of normalcy. It did not have enough of the danger and adventure.

Her heart learnt nothing from her hair-raising kidnap experience.

The hearts of men are nothing but traitorous organs that served not only to provide life to its host, but to end it as well.

A double-edged sword, that is what the heart is.

With a sharp breath, Kumiko placed her hand into Izaya's, and he pulled her up with one swift motion.

Her body flowed up with his lead, chest coming to a stop before his.

She peered up at him with honey eyes that were darkened with the shadows he casted.

"How does fatty tuna sound?" He grinned.

* * *

**Izaya's showtiiimeee~ Sorry for the short chapters, but once I figure out how I want to progress Izaya and Kumiko's relationship, longer chapters will come back :D hopefully by next chapter haha**

***gathers old fertilizing reviews and uses them to nourish the story again***

**I apologize once again for my disappearance and I am back, and I hope to make it up to you all by updating Fairyride and Psychedelic Dreams as I once did again :D I had lost a bit of inspiration for writing this, but when I once writing my Kol Mikaelson story, I happened to click on the reviews for Fairyride and Psychedelic Dreams and I remembered why I enjoyed writing these two babies so much; the readers and reviewers who followed Kumiko's journey in both are what made writing it worthwhile! Reading each and every review again, even the flames and the reviews that defended me from the flames, that sensation of writing for you all and hearing your feedback and giddiness at the story came back :3 **

**Feel free to drop any ideas or things you want to occur between Izaya and Kumiko :D what do you think will grow the relationship between them? I am open to ideas! Since I am kinda short on them myself as Izaya is really hard to picture in a relationship hahaha :3 **

**All ideas and opinions given will contribute to the next chapter coming out faster! Not kidding haha I really need some ideas for progressing Izaya and Kumiko haha I do not have enough on my own XD **

***rushes off to work on Psychedelic Dreams***

**Review Response Time!**

**angelbeets- thank you for your review and support! I'm glad you like both of my fics! The next chapter of Psychedelic Dreams is already underway XD **

**Ducky9002- thank you for your review! Haha and I must apologize for disappearing like that, but like Kumiko, the glamour of Ikebukuro and Shinjuku had me swallowed for a period of time hahah but now I finally managed to crawl out of the life-sucking hole and hope to be able to update more regularly again :D **

**MsWildLuck- Thank you for your review! It is much appreciated! I hope this chapter was to your liking! **

**Fumiko15- haha thank you for the review! I am glad that you enjoyed my story and I am awfully happy to hear that for someone who rarely reads stories of this genre, you are enjoying it :D Izaya's showtime is here now, so have no fear! If you have anything you wish to see happening between him and Kumiko, feel free to let me know! **

**RandomCitizen- Thank you for your review! And you have a twiiin? What is it like to have a twin? Hahaha I am always curious about that, and maybe perhaps I can gain some thoughts from you about twineology to help in my portrayal of Kururi and Mairu…? Hehehe and Izaya's meddling will come back to bite him, I'm sure haha but his turn to shine is here now, after lurking in the dark for so long XD**

**DokuroTenshi- thank you for your review! As for your reply, you already got it from me privately hahaha **

**Aviantei- Thank you for your review! And again, I apologize for my disappearance and the lack of updates :( Living in Japan has swallowed me whole, but I am out of it now haha the glamour is kinda lost now after two years… But! That's good news for my readers hahah Oh, and thank you for picking out the errors! I have slipped a lot after two years and I no longer have a beta reader but I will do my best to keep errors out! **


	20. Plotting Confusion

**Additional Author's Notes: My aunt passed away not very long after the last chapter; it was very sudden, nothing any of us expected for she had been happily chatting away with us and sending us messages of how much she loved all of us before she passed in the middle of the night at a still lively age of 49. I had went to bed all happy and fluffy for I just had a nice and funny chat with her and my cousin (her daughter), and she just expressed how much she loved us both; then mentioning she was going to go shower and mop the house, she went to do her work whilst I went to bed. Needless to say, the following morning, it was an emotional blow to all of us, especially my cousin who has now lost both her parents in the span of several years. I'm very close with my aunt, uncle and my cousin, so I felt it almost as raw as her and there is much I have to do to help her get through this moment and the years to come…Updates will not be as often as I have hoped as now I have to and want to travel back and forth between my country and Japan, to keep in touch with my family there as often as possible. My grandma has also taken a mental blow by her death and her son's death several years earlier, and let's just say I have never seen my grandma so broken before. **

**Guys, always cherish those around you and tell them you love them whenever possible. You just never know what might happen, as was the case with my aunt. I regret never seeing her during my spring holidays for I did not return, making the last time I saw her 6 months earlier. It is something that I will hold in my heart for the rest of my days, and I swear never to make that mistake again. **

**Author's Notes: Was going through the old chapters and found several story development mistakes haha it doesn't affect the story in any way but it kinda bugs me…but too lazy to change it haha **

**And I'm going to slowly go back and update the old chapters as I fix their mistakes; I don't get why some words and at times, sentences, disappears completely in some of the chapters :( no such thing happened in my word doc version of the stories :S **

**Anyways, was trying to catch up with the novel a bit and wondering about how I should write Izaya's relationship with Kumiko and then I just suddenly felt very sympathetic towards that sociopathic sadist haha I have a feeling I am going to feel very terrible for him when I finally put Kumiko and Shizuo together, leaving him out of the loop. Izaya is always left out of the loop, isnt he? :( the poor thing *flickbladed* **

* * *

_~Fairyride~_

_"Much unhappiness has come into the world because of bewilderment and things left unsaid."  
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky_

* * *

_Nakura: That Heiwajima Shizuo guy is really going at it lately, isn't he?_

_Shin Senjyo: What do you mean?_

_Nakura: Haven't you been looking at what others are saying? Surely you must have come across the wreckage that he's causing in Ikebukuro recently._

_Shin Senjyo: I haven't really been keeping up :S_

_Shin Senjyo: What's up with Shizuo?_

_Nakura: Apparently, he's been blowing up at everything and everyone. And sometimes for no apparent reason! Ikebukuro is really becoming a danger zone with people like him here…_

_Shin Senjyo: Really? But why?_

_Nakura: Who knows~? You should ask the man himself. He might answer you before beating you up~_

_Shin Senjyo: Hah, I think I'll pass…_

_Shin Senjyo: Anyways, I gotta go now. Talk to you later!_

_Nakura: Bye~_

_Shin Senjyo has logged off._

* * *

The gnawing of lips.

Something that Kumiko found herself doing more and more as each day passes, almost to the point of being as frequent as her stutters, which unfortunately, has started to return, much to her dismay.

She had honestly thought that her stutters were improving. But in light of recent events and her firmly believed notion that distancing herself from Shizuo and the others were to her best interest, the stutters which have plagued her and left in their wake has returned to their former host.

She refused to believe that the cure to her poor speech lay in communicating with people of such dangerous caliber. For if such was truly the case, she was pretty much screwed for the rest of her life, unless she chose to continue interacting with people that may or may not hospitalize her or get her in an abandoned warehouse somewhere every so often.

Maybe it was high time she saw a doctor for this…?

Kumiko frowned and snorted quietly to herself, the droning of the teacher buzzing in the background as the summer heat beat down on them through the window.

How long has it been since she last spoke or saw Shizuo? A week, was it?

It has only been two or three days max when she went out to eat sushi with Izaya, at the man's invite, much to her surprise and suspicion.

Kumiko's eyes loosened from its tightened hold, falling away to her natural innocent round as she stared out the window, gaze fixated on the pigeons circling the air around the school field.

She surprised herself, recently, with the suspicious thoughts she had of people.

Back then, she might have wondered and cursed people for their assumed lack of sincerity or whatnot, but it was never something that shaded the way she perceived others.

She might be gullible enough to trust in the whisperings of others and the rumors that flitted through the streets, but she never raised suspicions of her own will. Now, she was questioning Izaya's invite to dinner!

Though she supposed it was just that, an invite to dinner…it wasn't the first time he asked her to accompany him as he swiped down plates of his favorite fatty tuna whilst she poked at the egg rolls. Or maybe he had some ulterior motive in inviting her, which in that case, will most likely sooner or later end up in someone's demise or her own.

Her head fell forward and landed with a _thunk_ on her desk, weighted down by these conflicting thoughts and emotions within her.

Kumiko did not feel that she will live a very long life, stress from her constant conflicting heart and mind chipping away at her years slowly but surely. She mused that she might live to see thirty, but the next ten years after that were doubtful.

Sometimes she wondered if she was better off staying and going to school nearby her hometown instead of all the way out here in Tokyo, where the city life and its residents were just threatening to swallow her up.

She had imagined shopping sprees (or window shopping in her case) and sweets galore with all the variety of exquisite little cake shops and maybe find a nice boyfriend to introduce to her parents if they got along…

She certainly did not expect to be caught in the wired maze of relations that was The Strongest of Ikebukuro, The Most Dangerous of Ikebukuro, The Black Rider, The Underground Doctor and even Dollars.

It never once crossed her mind that she would meet a real dullahan and to find out that the creature from myth is actually a really sweet lady. She never thought she would experience being treated by a doctor who isn't actually by the law book and for that same doctor to repel her previous perception that all underground doctors were dark and creepy. She did not imagine that she'd be taken by the yakuza and almost literally roasted alive in an abandoned building before being saved by the aforementioned Most Dangerous of Ikebukuro and then nearly invoking the wrath of The Strongest of Ikebukuro on her for that. She did not once thought she would be making confectioneries for that same Strongest of Ikebukuro in an attempt to get to know him only for that plan to backfire on her as her stupid little heart suddenly decided to beat rapidly in a cacophony of _pitter-patters_ before his presence. And she surely never thought she would see a day where someone decided to enter her room through the window instead of the door.

It has been roughly about four months since she moved here to Tokyo, and Kumiko has experienced much more than she would ever experience in years of living in her hometown.

Her emotions, heart and body have been pushed to their limits in many of her experiences her, and frankly, she was scared shitless more than half of the time.

But can she truly say she regretted coming here and getting to know all these wonderful people that her simple mind could only previously imagine?

She could never say a truthful "No," of that she was certain.

She was glad she was given the chance to get to know these people, whether good or bad. It gave her a taste of the extraordinary that she so longed for.

And she surely did not have enough of it.

And yet, a part of her (unsurprisingly) did not want the extraordinary anymore. It wanted to return to the simple normalcy she once lived in.

It longed for the safety and certainty of that life.

But the other part...

The other part still wished to bask in presence of the one with hair of sunlight.

It wanted to taste the exhilaration the red-eyed one brought with him.

It wanted to continue feeling the comforting wash of dark wisps of shadows around her.

It wanted to see the silly cackles of the glassed one.

And she certainly wanted to continue babysitting those devilish twins.

And it was at the same twins home she now found herself in, having taken quite a while off work due to her recent activities, much to the disappointment of Mama Orihara. But the lady was still kind enough to continue offering her the job, since she was the only one who managed to keep it so long.

Mairu stood before her, a cutting blade in hand with its metal glinting ominously underneath the room light. And it was pointed straight at her.

Despite the differences in height, Kumiko still felt awfully intimidated with the way Mairu trained her gaze on her humble form, a wicked grin pulled across her girly lips.

"Kumiko-chan~!" The younger girl sang out, "Where have you been for so long?"

Kururi merely sat at her desk and watched, not even bothering to lift a finger to aid the elder girl.

"W-Well…"

"Did you not want to look after us anymore?" A threatening thrust of the cutting blade in her direction.

"N-No! Of c-course n-not…" A nervous laugh.

"Well, then what was it? We had to deal with our mother during the afternoon for so long because you were gone!"

"She…made us…clean our…clothes…" Kururi mumbled quietly.

"I'm s-sorry you had to c-clean your c-clothes?" It was high time they learned how to do house chores, in her opinion.

"It was horrible!" Mairu wailed, though the apparent glee on her face contradicted her supposed horror of having to do the laundry. She jabbed the cutting blade in her direction once more. "Why did you not babysit us?!"

It was at this moment Kumiko decided that the distance between the blade and her chest were too short for her liking and she pulled out the Hanejima Yuuhei badges she had in her pockets and showed them to her.

Instantly, the blade was gone and she squealed in delight as the badges were snatched from her hands. Kururi got up from her seat at the sight of the badges, blank eyes and lips quickly brightening with something only fervent fans of a particular artist would understand.

Kumiko quietly took a seat on another empty chair in their bedroom, watching with a small smile as the two girls fawned over the young artist.

Hanejima Yuuhei…

Kumiko wondered what sort of person he was. Did he have an explosive temper like Shizuo? Did he possess inhuman strength like Shizuo?

Kumiko groaned to herself, realizing her thoughts were once again drifting towards the golden haired man, as it had a tendency to do as of late.

Dropping her head into her right hand, her gaze remained on the twins but her thoughts went back to Shizuo as her conscious thoughts faded into a dream.

Shizuo never talked to her about his brother. What did she really know about Shizuo? What did Shizuo know about her besides the fact that she was a weakling?

Nothing.

She sighed.

She could see nothing ever happening between her and Shizuo.

Everything is against them; from their age, to their personalities, to the life they lead…

Damn her traitorous heart. She's acting like a schoolgirl with a crush…which she is, actually.

_God, fuck._

She had to nip this feeling within her in the bud before it got out of hand.

She was no stranger to crushes. The last crush she had lasted for three years, back when she was in middle school. She never confessed to the boy, and never talked to him either outside of the occasional group works and coincidental meetings.

She finally managed to forget about him when they went to separate high schools.

And Kumiko would rather not spend another three years pining after a guy who was out of her reach.

In the corner of her mind, the smart part of Kumiko scolded the girl, that the way she was acting did not seem like a young woman who had recently been kidnapped. That she should be thinking more about that instead of the twenty-five year old bodyguard.

Priorities, curse it all.

She hadn't notice the silence in the room and the way the twins were looking at her, slumped over in their study chair with a forlorn gaze etched into her clouded eyes. She did not see the way Kururi tilted her head before Mairu lifted an eraser and slung the stationery in her direction, the little square of white smacking her right in the middle of her forehead.

"Agh!"

She frowned at Mairu, but the girl merely twisted her nose at her as if she smelled, features scrunching up as placed arrogant hands on her hips.

"Kumiko-chan, you're more dumb than usual today~" The young girl sang, eyes squinting at her suspiciously from behind her pink rimmed glasses. Her twin nodded in agreement quietly.

Picking up the eraser from where it had fallen to the floor, Kumiko sighed dejectedly, tossing the eraser back at them. Great, even the devil twins could see she was off.

"I'm just s-stressed…," Which is true.

Mairu shot her a look that said that her answer was not enough. Her hand shot out to grab the forgotten cutting blade and lifted it up as a threatening weapon once more. Beside her, Kururi played with the Hanejima Yuuhei badges, rubbing soft fingers over the actor's face but her empty stare remained on Kumiko.

Running her hand across her face, Kumiko shook her head and mustered a smile as best she could. Never let personal problems get in the way of work.

"Y-You two should get onto your h-homework…" she said, earning her groans of dismay.

Kumiko's job was much easier now since the twins actually started to listen to her ever so often now compared to when she first started babysitting them. Perhaps it was due to the routine of her purchasing them merchandise and bringing gifts for them whenever they behaved?

She will never know how the Orihara family worked.

When their mother returned, Kumiko received her pay and left the household with as much glamour as a fly. The twins who watched her leave from the doorway to their kitchen both had curious shines within their young eyes, brows furrowed in suspicion and wondering.

The twins were not dense. They inherited the same sharpness their elder brother had.

"Kumiko-chan was really strange today, right Kururi?" Mairu sang, whilst sucking away explicitly on a lollipop.

Besides her, Kururi bobbed her head softly, eyes quietly shifting to Mairu's.

Their eyes met, and a silent message was exchanged between them.

_We really want to find out, don't we? _

* * *

Kumiko followed along with the waves of people pushing and pulling along the streets of Ikebukuro, not really caring where her feet brought her.

She honestly did not feel much like returning home today, something which she usually did right after school and babysitting.

It's not like she had anyone waiting for her there.

And she didn't have much friends here in Ikebukuro who she could call upon to hang out with.

In her heart, she really missed her hometown and Aya. She wanted to see her parents and see how they were doing.

But it was still a ways till the holidays arrived, and she was just going to have to suck it up.

She passed by a loud group of people hanging around a van, eyes peering curiously at them.

Three men and a woman dressed in black were gathered together, laughing and chatting away in their tight circle. The woman and the man with blonde hair were holding up mangas of some sort, furiously discussing the contents whilst the other two rolled their eyes and griped at them.

The blonde haired man's hair reminded her of Shizuo's hair, but they could not be compared to Shizuo's hair of sunlight.

Eyes widening, Kumiko quickly looked away and shuffled in another direction as fast as her feet could carry her.

She was thinking about Shizuo again.

A sigh rolled its way out of her. This will not do.

Deciding to enter a café and clear her mind with a nice cup of tea, Kumiko randomly entered one and took a seat by the window. Ordering apple tea and a slice of cake, she looked through the Dollar message board with her phone as she awaited her orders to arrive.

The group was as mundane and lively as usual. People chatted fervently when hot topics came up and boring topics died away instantly. The forum pulsed with life and death of countless invisible members, each with their own contributions to the daily routine of life, each of their invisible actions putting into motion consequences invisible to them.

She briefly wondered if they were as invisible as her in a world like this.

Did her life and decisions she made ever resulted in anything?

Kumiko briefly let that piece of thought swirl around in her mind, a sense of feeling utterly small engaging her heart.

It never occurred to her that her interactions with Shizuo and Izaya had resulted and will result in so many more things in the future, that it had already resulted in many yakuza members being captured by the police. These members are then no longer able to continue circulating their quota of drugs that will contaminate many youngsters, their quota of guns that will take the life of others, and their quota of young girls who will be taken away from their family.

She never realized the ripples through society her mundane and silly interactions with Shizuo and Izaya had.

Outside, a tiny bird flapped its way up to the window sill, dropping down to rest its wings. Its tiny head tilted as it seemingly stared at Kumiko through the glass. The senior girl smiled at the cuteness of the avian, finger reaching out to brush against its form on the decorated window.

With a sudden tap of her fingers against the glass, she sent the bird flying away again in surprise, and Kumiko watched it flap quickly away with jealousy.

She wished she was a bird, able to fly away as she wished and able to conjure such feelings of yearning and inspirations in others.

Her orders arrived, and she tucked her phone away, the Dollar forums disappearing into a screen of black.

As she munched away innocently at her cake and sipped her tea, elsewhere in the deep underground of the city, figures were moving. Figures that she had never met before but had clearly brushed with.

Figures who wished to enact revenge upon Orihara Izaya and Heiwajima Shizuo for their treachery, and if they were lucky, they would get the Headless Rider alongside those two.

But above all, their main target and priority was the man who pulled all the players into the board: Orihara Izaya.

And Kumiko, Shizuo, Celty, Shinra, Mairu and Kururi…no one suspected anything except for Orihara Izaya.

And said man, was now sitting in his office chair, sharp and handsome features casted in shadows as he contemplated his course of actions.

The special board he used for his game with Shizuo and babysitter-chan laid beside him on the desk, now in a standstill.

A troubled grin pulled across his thin lips and his eyes narrowed in anticipation and annoyance.

"Ahh, I might have dug the grave for Shizu-chan and babysitter-chan too deep…it might be big enough for me too!" He laughed almost crazily to himself, swirling his chair in circles.

Namie who was ignored by him, sat in the couch at the corner of the room, equally ignoring her employer. She actually kinda hoped that the grave he dug will fit him in too.

Unaware of the musings of his employee, Izaya stopped his chair mid-turn and rested his hands on his desk and stared at the special board game for two, namely Shizuo and Kumiko, of course.

"What to do, what to do…"

He had expected the yakuza to strike back, but he did not expect them to move so soon. Kuroha was more angry over his lost appendage more than he had anticipated. He really hated and loved these criminals.

He could always conjure a way to pin it on Shizu-chan, but it will not really result in much of a result for it had never worked before.

He poked at the piece representing the babysitter on the board, mind churning up ploys and schemes he could use to his advantage.

Moments passed during where the light of the sun vanished over the horizon, curtaining his office in inky black. He heard the shift of Namie as she got up to turn on the lights.

He paid no heed to the sudden flash of white that cut through the darkness of his office, eyes hardly flinching at the sudden intrusion of brightness.

Orihara Izaya is a God.

A God who sees all and knows all.

And he will hardly let several yakuzas who failed in their mission to impede his Crusade.

Flipping open his phone, Izaya proceeded to contact a Dollar member he was increasingly getting familiar with, eyes dancing as it alighted upon the handle name, fingers flitting across the buttons to start up an all but innocent chat with the member.

Shin Senjyo.

_Nakura: Hey, how are you?_

With the press of a button, the electrical message and signal was sent, travelling across wires and distances to its intended destination and recipient, who still sat at the random café on a random street within the mass that was Ikebukuro.

Kumiko jerked from her daydream and stared at the phone in her hand, a notification banner sliding down from the top of the screen, covering her Twitter page partly with its message.

_You have a new message._

Clicking on the banner, she was brought to the Dollars application that members can download off the link provided in the forums. Usage of the application required a Dollars handle name and password, so non-members who never received the invite would not be able to use the application even if they downloaded it.

She opened up the chat room once she saw that it was from Nakura, finding it enjoyable to chat with this faceless character. He had a lot of interesting things and thoughts to say, and the fact that it was all online made it easier for Kumiko to communicate with him on a level that she would have found difficult physically.

_Shin Senjyo: I'm fine, I guess. Could be better. You?_

It wasn't long before his reply came, and their chat quickly progressed.

_Nakura: Same here. Could be better. What's troubling you?_

_Shin Senjyo: It won't be anything that will interest you lol girl problems._

_Nakura: You will never know till you try~ I might surprise you (*w*)_

Pursing her lips, Kumiko took a bit of time to word her sentences.

_Shin Senjyo: Well, there's this guy…_

_Nakura: I knew it~!_

_Shin Senjyo: haha I told you it wouldn't interest you._

_Nakura: Never said such a thing~ Continue please~~_

_Shin Senjyo: Fine, fine. _

She chatted with him about her feelings for Shizuo, although she did not mention that it was Shizuo. Last thing she wanted was for him to block her because she was associating with who is known as a terrible monster.

But the thing is, she does not think that way about Shizuo.

Even Izaya, whom many calls dangerous and best to not associate with! No matter the times he put a blade against her neck and confused her with his antics, he never once hurt her before. Hell, he was the reason she's even here safe and sound right now. If not for him, she might have still been in yakuza imprisonment.

But she will never put voice to these thoughts, not to someone she met online. Her list of friends were limited as it is.

_Nakura: Hmmm~ I think you should try to find out how he feels about you._

_Shin Senjyo: Really? I mean, it's hardly appropriate…_

_Nakura: All's fair in love~ _

_Shin Senjyo: I don't know…I'll think about it._

_Nakura: Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here~ _

_Shin Senjyo: Www(1) thanks! _

_Shin Senjyo: I'm glad I know you :)_

_Nakura: Don't mention it ;)_

And Izaya grinned.

* * *

**(1)www: an expression of laughter in Japanese chats.**

**Lol Kumiko's treasure balls xD Annnd, I really want to think of a ship name for KumikoXShizuo and KumikoXIzaya. Ideas anyone? I can't seem to think of a good one…Gawd, I'm horrible with names. **

**And I figured with all the tech savvy people, having a Dollars member only application would'nt be so hard to imagine XD**

******Catching up on the novels, I have discovered a part of Izaya I very much want to put into play in the story later on, and it will be the main trigger of his 'feelings' for babysitter-chan XD**

**Read and Review, not Read and Run! :) What do you guys think will happen? What do you guys want to happen? Let me hear your thoughts! Hurrr**

**Review Response Time!**

**Seere Klein- haha sorry about that, it is a bit slow in emerging XD I wrote this story with the intention of taking time in developing each character's feelings haha and the story will not work unless I develop Shizuo and Kumiko first XD Thanks for the review! **

**Bloody Kirai- Thanks for your review! And your update is now delivered haha**

**QRed- haha their relationship now is hardly good XD it's so unhealthy with nothing but lies from Izaya manipulating her haha thanks for the review! **

**Aviantei- thank you for your review once again! And for picking out my errors; I'm slowly going back and correcting the errors in all the previous chapters haha And I am slowly cooking up something now XD **

**Fan- thank you for your review and support haha it is REALLY appreciated!**

**RandomCitizen- thanks for your review and input on the twins stuffs! And your idea has been noted :3 It has a chance of being used if the current idea I have flops hahaha XD **

**XxCupcakeAssassinxX- thank you for the review! And I am glad you are excited for Kumiko and Izaya's part of the story haha This story is mainly dominated by Shizuo fans but there are Izaya fans out there, and I hope I can convert a bit of love from Shizuo to Izaya too hahah**

**MsWildLuck- thank you for your review! Haha I hope I don't disappoint your expectations :S**


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